Gubernatorial Polls: INEC declares elections in Imo, Abia and Taraba inconclusive

The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared elections in Imo, Abia and Taraba states inconclusive. Results in Imo and Abia states were declared ‘inconclusive’ due to the close margin of win between the APC and PDP parties and high number of cancelled votes.
As for Taraba, the governing body said a rerun in some parts of the state will be held in 30 days time.

Gubernatorial Poll: Meet the Governors-Elect in 21 states

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has announced winners of the 2015 Gubernatorial Elections in 21 States namely; Kaduna, Ogun, Sokoto, Oyo, Bornu, Lagos, Niger, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Enugu, Zamfara, Benue, Nassarawa, Gombe, Kwara, Katsina, Bauchi, Kano, Akwa-Ibom, Delta and Yobe.

INEC issues statement on Gubernatorial polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission conducted Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections across the country on Saturday, April 11, 2015. Governorship elections were held in 29 States of the Federation, while State Assembly elections were held in 36 states.

No election took place in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). A general assessment shows that the elections went very well across the country.
According to preliminary reports, 88.9 % of polling units opened for accreditation between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. across the country. Only 5.2 % were yet to open as of 1 pm. Also, 73 % of the polling units had commenced voting by 2.30 p.m.

The process of accreditation with Smart Card Readers was also successful in a majority of the polling units. Initial challenges were recorded in Edo and Abia states, but the technical teams deployed to support the states were able to resolve the issues in a timely manner.

Overall, many parts of the country remained relatively peaceful during the elections. Some states, however, recorded a significant number of violent incidents, the most affected being Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi and Ondo States.

INEC’s records show that there were 66 reports of violent incidents targeted at polling units, the Commission’s officials, voters and election materials. These were in Rivers State (16 incidents), Ondo (8), Cross River and Ebonyi (6 each), Akwa Ibom (5) Bayelsa (4), Lagos and Kaduna (3 each), Jigawa, Enugu, Ekiti and Osun (2 each), Katsina, Plateau, Kogi, Abia, Imo, Kano and Ogun (1 each).
The Commission is investigating these incidents and will do everything within in its powers to bring culprits to justice.
INEC commends Nigerians for once again demonstrating their resolve and commitment to participate in the electoral process and by doing so, contributing to deepening democracy in our country.
The Commission calls on every citizen to maintain the peace as the results of the Governorship and State Assembly elections are being processed, and to accept the official outcomes. It would like to emphasize that winners can only emerge after collation of the official results and on the basis of the requirements prescribed by the legal framework. Any aggrieved persons or groups are encouraged to seek redress at the Tribunals.
INEC would also like to remind all stakeholders that the process is not yet completed and urges restraint in their comments, as we strive to bring this process to an orderly, peaceful and credible conclusion.

Prof Attahiru Jega gets certificate of commendation from President Obama.

Awww! We all agree he’s very deserving of the award. Outgoing chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega has been presented with a Certificate of Commendation.

The honour was bestowed to him by US President Barack Obama. US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle who presented the certificate on behalf of President Obama noted that Jega’s performance was outstanding and worthy of emulation.

Jega expressed surprise at President Barack Obama’s decision to give him an award when the elections are still on. 

Prof Attahiru Jega to leave office in June, says he will reject tenure extension

Professor Attahiru Jega’s tenure as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission will come to an end in two months time, June to be precise.
In an interview with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the electoral umpire who was appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 said he will not accept a tenure extension.
“I am grateful to God. I was asked to come and contribute my own quota to the national development and I have done my bit to the best of my ability. Whatever assignment one will do for five years – just like this difficult one β€” to me if one is able to successfully accomplish the task, someone else should be given the opportunity. 


Because for me I am not interested and if I am requested to serve again, I will not do it, by God’s grace.” He said.

Godsday Orubebe apologises for disrupting proceedings at INEC collation centre

Former Niger Delta Affairs Minister Elder Godsday Orubebe has tendered an apology for his outbursts at the INEC collation centre in Abuja yesterday. Recall that the PDP agent disrupted proceedings during the exercise and accused the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega of being tribalistic and biased.
Elder Orubebe hasn’t only rued his actions, he has also appealed to Niger Delta youths not to perpetuate violence but accept the poll result in good faith.
Election is a passionate thing and I really regret what took place this morning. I was unnecessarily pushed by Jega to get to that level. I want to apologise particularly to young Nigerians that look up to take politics as a career to say that what happened was not intended to cause them any embarrassment. 

To Nigerians generally, I regret my actions as even an elder in the church, and a leader, the young men expected to see a lot from me and I believe that if there was any disappointment they got from me I apologize to Nigerians and to the youths of this country.”

Update: Hacked INEC website has been restored.

The website of the Independent National Electoral Commission which was hacked by a group called The Nigerian Cyber Army has been restored.

We are aware of the recent hack of our @inecnigeria website, we are currently investigating this incident #NigeriaDecides”. INEC announced on its twitter page.
Here is what the hackers wrote on the website, 

 “StruCkED by Nigerian Cyber Army[!] Sorry xD Your Site has been STAMPED by TeaM Nigerian Cyber Army FEEL SOME SHAME ADMIN!! Security is just an illusion

Remember US πŸ˜€ GREETINGS OF PEACE TO CITIZEN OF NIGERIA FROM TEAM NCANIGERIANS No Body Can Give You Freedom No Body Can Give You Equality Or Justice If You Are A Man/Woman YOU TAKE IT. 



Its 2015 Elections And We Are Here AGain But This Time In A Different Form, APC Claimed They Hacked Into INEC DATABASE But We Own The DATABASE Long Before Now So No Worries No Fear To All NIGERIANs…GO And Cast Your Vote And We Assure You That Your Vote Must Count Because We Are The Kings Of The NIgerRian CYber SPACE.

NOTE: WE GAT ACCESS TO OTHER HIGH RANKING NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT SERVERS, BUT WE ARE NOT HERE FOR THAT TODAY!.


INEC DONT TRY TO RIG BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU DAY AND NIGHT FOR MONTHS NOW BUT DONT BE SCARED WE MEAN NO HARM COS IF YOU ATTEMPT TO RIG YOU WILL PAY!!
WE ARE THE THE VOICE OF THE YOUTHs!!

WE ALSO USE THIS MEDIUM TO ADVICE ALL POLITICAL PARTIES: WHO PRICE GO PAY.


WE DO NOT FORGIVE
WE DO NOT FORGET
EXPECT US!”

INEC extends PVC collection to March 22

The Independent National Electoral Commission has extended the deadline for collection of Permanent Voter Cards to March 22.
Below is a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the commission, Mr. Kayode Idowu,
“INEC hereby calls on registered persons that are yet to collect their PVCs to use this last opportunity in doing so, in order to participate in the forthcoming general elections.”
The commission added that 80.24% of the Permanent Voter Cards have been distributed to their owners. Meanwhile Ogun State is the only state out of the 36 states that is yet to reach 50% PVC collection.

Ekiti Election Rigging Tape: Prof Wole Soyinka calls on INEC, EFCC, ICPC for probe.

In an article titled: The Silver Lining in the Cloud of Postponement. Accomplished writer, Professor Wole Soyinka has called on anti-corruption agencies – the EFCC and the ICPC to dig deep into the Ekiti State election rigging tape which was exposed by a military intelligence officer several weeks ago. Read his article below.
The “Advertorial” – full front page of a newspaper ” Feb 23, 2015 – sponsored by Mr. Ayo Fayose (aka “No Apology”) deserves to succeed in its aim of putting an end to all dispute surrounding the Ekiti elections of June 21, 2014.
After all, its entire page is dedicated to a Press Statement from the US Department of State, which purportedly endorses the results of that election, congratulates the electoral organization, the winner/loser duo, not forgetting the security forces – all for their laudable contributions.
The release could not be timelier, what with the governor’s own exhortations on the virtues of credibility, avoidance of violence, and its special appeal to “ALL THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE”.
It is that last item in the advertisement to which I am especially drawn, in view of an audio recording that has now become the latest marvel of democratic exposes, internationally. For those who have nothing to hide, disrobing lies and forgeries and reinforcing truth is regarded as part and parcel of the obligations we owe democracy.
The audio could well be one of such forgeries. We are daily inundated with allegations, evasions, distortions, image plundering and image laundering, all under the permissive canopy of electoral proceeding.

Once in a while however, we encounter exposure of an exceptional dimension that appears to strike at the very root of Democracy, questions the validity of an entire electoral system and even erodes confidence in the integrity of the state.

Such an event need not be regarded as a repudiation of the formal mechanics put in place by an electioneering agency such as INEC, but nonetheless extends the scope of its responsibilities, including its projection of looming hazards of future electoral exercises.
This is why, in the absence of a Constitutional Court or its equivalent, one is left with no other course than to call on INEC to also take formal charge of the recorded incident of this alleged conspiracy to pervert the course of Democracy.
For those ‘who have nothing to hide’, it is a call that deserves unstinting support. They should not hesitate to assist in calling on the same US expertise to assist us in exposing a forgery.
We are speaking here of a development that implicates not only products, beneficiaries or would-be constitutional guardians of the electoral process – that is, an elected governor, a governorship aspirant, but also state agencies – the military, two serving ministers – that is, members of the Executive arm of government, one of them in charge of the nation’s defence portfolio – and others.
In addition to the logical role of the police, the nation’s electoral commission should undertake an independent investigation and make its findings known to the nation. Is this perhaps something INEC can undertake while the nation waits out its suspended electoral sentence? It only requires repudiation – or validation – of the findings of an already advanced forensic enquiry.
So also should the two anti-corruption agencies – the EFCC and the ICPC – since material corruption is also implicit in the present instance. At the fount of all electoral manipulation is the grim facilitator – Money! Here, for instance, is a lesson drawn from the travails of a former Inspector-General of Police in recent history.
That scandal happened to coincide with a barely concluded electoral exercise, considered by some as a strong contestant for one of the most blatantly manipulated election in the nation’s history. A number of bulging accounts had been traced to that Inspector-General.
During private discussions, I exhorted the then Director of EFCC to go beyond the sensational monetary finds and track each of them painstakingly back to source. “If you succeed in that”, I urged Nuhu Ribadu, “you would have done more than merely expose institutional police corruption, you would have done inestimable service to the cause of Democracy.
The I-G,” I insisted, “was a mere bag holder for electoral manipulators inhabiting the most rarefied levels of governance!” I therefore pleaded with him not to stop at the prosecution and conviction of the sacrificial face – in effect, a scapegoat, albeit most willing – of that operation.
This was equally my prayer to the Nigerian Bar Association during an Abuja lecture at the time. Anyone who disputes a robust connection between material and political corruption should reflect on the mild slap on the wrist that the I-G received for charges of misappropriation of such staggering dimensions.
Now it is the turn of the Army as facilitators for the alleged political crime. Allied to this elite criminal corps – again, as alleged – was a former Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee turned governorship candidate.
The evidence resides in the recording of a conspiracy against free and fair elections, later reinforced by a televised interview with the whistleblower – a military intelligence officer.
That recording has been heard by millions all over the world –governments, Human Rights Organizations, election monitoring groups, business individuals, even those merely seeking real-life variants on improbable Nollywood fare.
The alleged crime is in global domain.
Let no one attempt to facilitate the rampaging course of Impunity by brushing this aside as just another electoral malpractice – no, in my layman estimation, this approaches criminal subversion and treason.
The accusation is blatant and the demand for rigorous investigation must remain unrelenting. The accounts of the inculpated General and others should be subjected to the same scrutiny as those of the earlier cited Inspector-General of police. And so on, and so clamorous! Those who have nothing to fear can sleep easy.
If the formal agencies fail, then citizens must learn to assert their right of access to Truth. As is the practice in other societies, a Citizens Trial can be instituted, experts co-opted, and both accusers and accused invited to testify.

Even the venue does not have to be internal, since witnesses may require protection. Democracy does not begin or end with the ballot box, nor is it confined to national boundaries.
There is no assertion anywhere yet of a “Case Proven”, no rush to judgment, simply a craving – as urged in the said governor’s advertorial – to let “facts Speak for themselves!

INEC officially announces postponement of elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega in a press briefing has  announced that the 2015 elections that was scheduled for Feb 14th to Feb 28th for the Presidency , State and Local Government elections  will now hold from March 23rd 2015 and April 11.
The chief reason for the postponement is  to give a new multinational force time to secure north-eastern areas under the sway of Boko Haram.β€Ž
We call on all stakeholders to accept this decision in good faith and ensure the maintenance of peace.” – He added
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