INEC - Presidential Election Results Will Be Ready By Wednesday, Says Prof. Yakubu

Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has informed Nigerians that the commission was working to ensure that it does not keep the masses waiting for days without declaring the results, saying the time limit would not exceed what was obtained in 2015.

Prof. Yakubu mentioned this while addressing journalists on Wednesday 20th February, 2019 in Abuja on the commission's preparedness for the election on Saturday.

In 2015, while the presidential election held on a Saturday, a winner was not declared until the following Wednesday.

The INEC Chairman said ''Even though this time around we have more presidential candidates than in 2015, we have more registered voters than we had in 2015, the size of the result sheet is bigger than we had in 2015, but we are committed to concluding the process for the Presidential elections roughly about the same time that we concluded the 2015 general elections.

''We will do whatever we can to ensure that we speedily conclude the process but we won't sacrifice accuracy for speed.''

The INEC boss also stated that the fate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State was already sealed by the Supreme Court, adding that there has to be an end to litigation. According to him, the commission would always respect court orders but not when the apex court of the land has taken a final decision on the same matter.

''I think the Supreme Court has made a number of pronouncements on that matter and for that reason, the commission has taken a position going by that judgement. Under our constitution, the Supreme Court is the last court of resort for anyone and there must be an end to litigation as lawyers say.

''When the Supreme Court makes a pronouncement, all persons and authorities in the Federal Republic of Nigeria are bound by the decision and so the commission as a law abiding institution will abide by the judgement.

''There is nowhere else to go. We go by the judgement. When the apex court has spoken, that is the end of the road for all litigations'', he said.

On the PVC collection rate, the INEC Chairman said information in that regard has also been made available, the number of PVC collections in each states, numbers of uncollected PVC's and total numbers of registered voters. These details are made available for Nigerians to be aware.

ELECTION 2019 - Man Electrocuted On Electric Pole Trying To Hang Buhari Poster Very High In Jigawa

Electrocuted Jamilu Tukur

Sad news has visited Jigawa State after a man who happens to be a die hard supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling party All Progressive Congress (APC) was on Sunday electrocuted in Jigawa while hanging Buhari poster high on electric pole for the 2019 presidential election.

The incident which took place at Kudai community in Dutse Local Government Area of the State where the ruling party APC has a strong hold.

Mr. Audu Jingiri, the Jigawa police command public relations officer confirmed the incident on Wednesday. He said the deceased name is Jamilu Tukur who is 25 years old.

Mr. Audu said Jamilu climbed an electric pole to tie the banner and in the process was electrocuted right on top of the electric pole.

He was taken to Rashid Shekoni Specialist Hospital Dutse but died immediately on arrival.

The People Of Gombe Has Lament Over The Poor State And Level Of Failed Government In The Region

Northerners have bemoaned poverty rate in the region, saying it is occasioned by their leaders failure. The reactions came on the heels of some photographs showing street kids in Gombe State scrambling for food poured on the road.

According to news correspondent, Azubuike, who took the photographs, a minor accident involving a tricycle and a food vendor had led to the spilling of food on the road.

Children (Almajiris) who were nearby scrambled for the food, feeding off the dirty tarred road, even as vehicles sped by.

The incident happened on Tuesday, around Liberty Roundabout, GRA, Government House in Gombe State. Northern readers were taken aback by the photographs, and they responded with indictment of their leaders. Some of the reactions are captured below...

Abubakar Yahaya - Do we really have leaders in this country?

Alhaji Umar Abdulqadir - I'm a northerner but the sad truth is we the northerners are the number one problem of this country! it is such a shame that the richest man is from the north, the highest number of presidents this country has produced are northerners yet unfortunately north is the headquarters of poverty! God punish our leaders!

Aliu Malbimes Bello - This is a punch on the face of Arewa but yet some with obsession will still look at this picture and say that everything is very okay with sending younger ones to Almajiri school when those that go to Arabic schools at home while living with their parents speak Arabic fluently and can comprehend and memorize the Qur'an much and more better than those that are sent to Almajiri schools elsewhere. Again, we give birth to children that we can't take full responsibilities of, and when some rational minded individuals come out to say that we should be controlling how we give birth in this side of the country then some individuals with mental dementias will read the comments and get pissed up and starts showering insults alleging that it's wrong when it's crystal clear that issues like that happens within the premises of their nose.

Bello Aliyu Sambo - This is a disgraced for we northern

Anas Ahmed Isaa - Is a PDP state we're not astonished they want to get the whole country and sell. We know they're established thieves.

Adams Abubakar - It's a big shame that we're still dealing with this almajiri thing when most of the people that have ruled Nigeria were northerners. The problems in the north, coupled with the conservative nature of many northerners towards change make me lie about my origin sometimes.

Babangida Hong - Of what benefits is this power to us in the North when our leaders seek power is just to enslave us? Disgusting.

Almajiris feed off food poured on the road in the Government Reserved Area of Gombe on Tuesday.

Sowore - Ballot Box Threat By Buhari Is Aimed At Scaring Voters Population

Omoyele Sowore (Presidential Candidate of AAC)

Omoyele Sowore the Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has said that President Muhammadu Buhari's statement on ballot box snatchers is a threat which is aimed at scaring away voters on election day.

Mr. Sowore said if Buhari was sincere about stopping electoral malpractice, he would have focused on the sponsors of ballot box snatchers and not the actors only.
The AAC Presidential candidate made this known during an interview with newsmen on Wednesday. The activist said President Buhari had shown that he was still a dictator as he made no mention of arresting and prosecuting ballot box snatchers but went ahead to suggesting killing.

He further said if the President was really serious about stopping electoral malpractice, he would have stopped his party from engaging in vote buying.

Sowore also said, "General Buhari is clearly still a military dictator at heart. Ballot box snatching is a terrible offence, but how could anyone ask for an offender to be killed without recourse to the law? Are there no courts? Shouldn't an offender be charged to court first?

''It is ironic that the same person who is quick to ask for ballot box snatchers to be killed, has no problems with heading a party that engages in massive vote-buying and rigging as we saw in Ekiti and Osun.

''While President Buhari called for the ballot box snatchers to be killed, what about the people who sent them to snatch the ballot boxes? What about the politicians who paid them to cause chaos at the polls? By raising the specter of violence at polling centers and encouraging law enforcement agencies to shoot during elections, the President is essentially scaring people away from the polls.

''He knows that ballot rigging has been a sad but persistent feature of Nigerian elections. This threat is not really directed at ballot box snatchers, but a deliberate attempt to scare people away from the polls. I call on all Nigerians not to be deterred or scared away from the polls.''

The publisher of Sahara Reporters, who also lambasted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for postponing the polls, said he already knew INEC would delay the elections and he had prepared adequately.

Sowore said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) were the biggest beneficiaries of the postponement because they were the richest parties in the country.

When asked if he had the N800m needed to deploy polling agents in all the polling units and voting points across the country, Mr. Sowore said he did not need such an amount because people were willing to volunteer.

Some Nigerians Put Up A Show-Down Against Some Police In Malaysia Yesterday

News has heard it that some group of Nigerians has put up a show-down of quarrel between them and some Malaysia police.

This incident occurred in one of the condo where Nigerians are residing in Puchong Prima, city of Puchong.

Later that same day the few numbers of police called for backup which eventually stormed the area, the large numbers of police patrolled the area of Puchong Prima including the surroundings of the popular OTK Pasaraya Supermarket.

Some numbers of Nigerians were apprehended, and some were able to identify themselves through their valid passports. We will be bringing you more details as soon as investigations to what lead to the misunderstanding between the few Nigerians and some of the police earlier.

Below is a video showing how some of the Nigerians shouting and exchanging words with those police they were having dispute with.

ELECTION WORRIES - 31 INEC Card Readers Allegedly Stolen And Recovered From Bush In Rivers

The operatives of Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers State have recovered 31 Electronic Card Readers (ECRs) believed to have been stolen from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The ECRs were recovered in a bush at Rumuji-Emohua axis of the East-West Road in the South-South state. They were allegedly thrown into the bush by thugs who were fleeing to escape arrest.

The thugs were believed to be working for one of the major political parties.

SARS yesterday notified the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in River State, Mr. Obo Effanga, seeking for more information and the cooperation of the commission and its officials to ensure detailed investigation.

A top official of SARS in Rivers, told our reporter in confidence over the telephone that the hoodlums who drove in a brown Toyota Camry saloon car around 9am on Saturday, were given a hot chase by operatives of the squad, making them to escape, after throwing a bag containing the 31 card readers into the bush.

The SARS chief also revealed that operatives of the police formation continued to search the bush, leading to the later discovery and recovery of the 31 stolen card readers, which was revealed by intelligence as perpetrated by political thugs.

According to the SARS top official, the recovered card readers were still in police custody.

It was also learnt that the hoodlums car left Port Harcourt for communities in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers to perfect their rigging plans, unaware of 11th hour postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Rivers SARS, in a letter to the REC of INEC in the state, with reference number: AR: 3000/RVS/SARS/RVS/VOL.8/272, dated February 16 and received/signed yesterday at 8am by an INEC official, titled: "Investigation Activities. Re: Stolen and recovered INEC Card Readers by ASP Monday Mathias and Team," was signed by Rivers Commander of SARS, Mr. Akin Fakorede, an Assistant Commission of Police (ACP).

The letter reads: "The above-named detective and team are serving members of this formation and are investigating a case of suspected stolen/recovered INEC's card readers.

"You are kindly requested to assist the team in the course of the investigation. Attached herewith are the serial numbers of the INEC's card readers for ease of reference. Accept the best assurances of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police (Usman Belel), please."

When contacted for his reaction through the telephone at 7:45pm yesterday, the REC of INEC in Rivers, said: "I am still expecting the investigating SARS operatives to come to INEC office in Port Harcourt, for further details."

The MTN line of the Director of Information and Communications of Rivers PDP Campaign Council, Emma Okah, who is also the state's Commissioner for Information and Communications, was not available from 7:55pm yesterday.

When contacted at 7:59pm the Rivers PDP's Publicity Secretary, Darlington Orji, said he was not aware of the recovered card readers, "talk less of knowing if they were recovered from PDP members."

PDP Has Rejects Shift In Election Dates, Request INEC Chairman To Resign

Secondus (National Chairman - PDP)

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the new dates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the general elections.

It alleged that shoddy arrangements for the elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission was a deliberate agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari to cling on to power even when it said it was obvious to him that Nigerians wanted him out of power.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Secondus, stated this while reacting to the pronouncements made by the Chairman of INEC Prof. Yakubu Mahmood in the early hours of Saturday, telling Nigerians that the election has been postponed.

Prof. Yakubu said that the Presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled to hold today 16th Saturday, 2019, would now hold on new date which is Saturday 23rd February, 2019, while that of governorship and State House of Assembly and Abuja Area Councils had been shifted to March 9, 2019.

PDP National Chairman Secondus alleged that the postponement was part of a grand design by the All Progressives Congress to Thwart the will of Nigerians at all cost. He added saying that the action had clearly exposed INEC as a failure and called on it's chairman to resign immediately.

The leader of the People's Democratic Party warned that the party will not accept "anything short of a well organised electoral process devoid of manipulation, harassment and intimidation of voters and the opposition particularly members of the PDP."

He added, "Having failed in all their nefarious options to enable them cling on to power, the APC and the INEC came up with the idea of shifting election, an action that is dangerous to our democracy and is therefore unacceptable."

Secondus further added that the APC in connivance with INEC "have been trying all options including but not limited to burning down INEC offices in some states and destroying of electoral materials to create artificial problems upon which to stand for their dubious act."

According to a statement from the national chairman's media office signed by Ike Abonyi, Secondus said that the party was privy to the alleged pressure from the APC and the Federal Government to allegedly arm twist INEC, to dance to their new strategy after earlier ones failed.

He said, "With several of their rigging options failing, they have to force INEC to agree to a shift in the election or a staggered election with flimsy excuses pre-manufactured for the purpose.

"For the avoidance of doubt the PDP sees this action as wicked and we are also aware of other dubious designs like the deployment of hooded security operatives who would be ruthless on the people ostensibly to scare them away."

He said that by this action, the President had allegedly further demonstrated his "insensitivity costing the huge cost after Nigerians including those who came home from abroad have all mobilized to their various constituencies."

He recalled that the PDP had earlier alerted Nigerians that the APC was allegedly coming up with rigging strategies including "burning down of INEC offices and engineering crisis in PDP stronghold areas to scare away the people."

Secondus said that the wicked killing of over 60 persons mostly women and children in Southern Kaduna on the eve of election was a copious ploy by the APC to frighten the people away from voting, knowing too well that they were not going to record any vote from the area.

"Recall that the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai had earlier threatened international election observers of going to their country in body bags and with the fatal violence in the state on the eve of election, its clear what the motives are, to frighten the observers from the state so that he can carry out his nefarious acts," he said.

The National Chairman also drew the attention of all lovers of democracy to the statement of President Buhari on the international media that nobody can unseat him from office as an indication of what he wanted to do.

Prince Secondus also regretted that President Buhari who made a promise at the signing of peace accord that the election would be conducted in a fair and transparent atmosphere had gone ahead in breach of the peace agreements by sending soldiers and other security agencies to arrest, harass and intimidate opponents in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Kano, Kaduna States.