Politics
Imo Gov Poll: Opposition Parties Call For Cancellation
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and other opposition political parties have collectively demanded a reassessment and annulment of the Imo State governorship election results from Saturday.
Their unified stance was expressed on Monday in Owerri, at joint media briefing through individual statements from the political parties.
The LPs candidate, Senator Athan Achonu, described the electoral process as “a complete sham and a rape of democracy.”
He emphatically called for a thorough reassessment and cancellation of the election results, highlighting gaps such as faulty voter accreditation, vote buying, and voter-intimidation.
He also expressed disappointment in the security personnel’s inability to safeguard the integrity of the ballot.
He said: “I am calling on all lovers of democracy as well as Igbo sons and the INEC to save our democracy by carrying out a holistic review of the election to satisfy the curiosity of Imo people and Nigerians at large.’’
On his part, the PDP’s candidate, Senator Samuel Anyanwu expressed gratitude to the residents of Imo for casting their votes despite reported intimidation.
However, he voiced concern and disappointment over the purported compromise of security agents, as evidenced in viral videos.
Sen Anyanwu highlighted that due to faulty accreditation, over-voting became prevalent, disregarding both conscience and the rule of law.
“In the full glare of security operatives, polling units were overrun with vote buying and hijacking of election materials. We therefore call for a review and cancellation of the poll,’’ he stated.
The APGA’s candidate, Tony Ejiogu, pointed out that the election was characterized by irregularities and described it as “a bad precedence to set” and emphasized the imperative for a review of both the process and its results.
He expressed concern that the extensive campaigns conducted by his party, both on and off social media, would be futile if the electoral commission didn’t reassess the election and the underlying processes leading to the declaration of a winner.
Similarly, candidate of the YPP, Dr. Kemdi Opara expressed disbelief at the announced result, particularly noting his inability to secure victory in his Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
He said, “Unbelievable that according to the announced result, he could not win his Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
“INEC must redeem its image. We need a paradigm shift because the INEC result is not a reflection of the true situation.”
A PDP chieftain, Mike Ikokwu, expressed concern about evidence of over-voting in certain areas of the state. He urged INEC to adhere to the electoral guidelines, specifically calling for a review of the results within seven days.
The Imo State Chairman, LP, Callistus Ihejiagwa, raised issues about results being uploaded for locations where elections did not take place, contributing to unchecked over-voting. He insisted that a thorough review of the poll was necessary.
He said, “A total of 500,000 votes were cast for APC alone as announced by INEC. Yet, only about 300,000 persons were duly accredited as evidenced in the server. This charade has to be reviewed.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the outcome of the Ondo State governorship election, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of electoral malpractice, including vote-buying and result manipulation.
This was disclosed during a meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum on Saturday in Jos, Plateau State.
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The forum, chaired by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, criticized the conduct of the election, which saw APC’s Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa secure a landslide victory for another four-year term in Alagbaka, Akure.
“We are still reviewing documents from the Ondo election, where the APC openly bought votes and manipulated results,” Mohammed said.
He urged the judiciary to “save Nigerian democracy” and called on the National Assembly to strengthen electoral laws to prevent what he described as “institutional sabotage of the people’s will.”
The PDP governors also condemned the September governorship election in Edo State, describing it as a “rape of democracy.”
The forum accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with the APC to declare its candidate the winner despite claims that the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, had secured the majority of lawful votes.
“INEC blatantly manipulated the results in favor of the APC candidate. This undermines the credibility of our electoral process,” Mohammed said.
Beyond electoral grievances, the governors urged the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting by February 2025.
They emphasized the need for broader consultations with stakeholders to resolve the party’s internal leadership crisis and strengthen its position as the main opposition party.
The forum reiterated its commitment to democratic values and vowed to push for electoral reforms that would restore public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
The Ondo governorship election has sparked a renewed call for transparency in the country’s electoral system, with the PDP vowing to challenge what it views as a subversion of democracy.
Following his observations that ‘the momentum was strong’ Matt Gaetz whom 47th POTUS elect, Donald Trump nominated for Attorney General has withdrawn.
Biztellers reports that this follows his meeting with Senate and the feedback, which included two women, represented by their attorneys, who accused him of having paid for sex.
Consequently, Gaetz placed on record his full commitment to seeing “that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history.”
His withdrawal according his statement on micro-blogging site, X, was based on his conviction that “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle”.
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In is view, “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1”.
Gaetz wrote, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.
“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
His backers have promptly encouraged to take his seat in the House of Representatives, having been elected to the house under the flag of the Republicans to represent Florida.
The Executive Governors from Nigeria’s South West have unanimously nominated Senator Ademola Adeleke as the chairman of the zone on the National Economic Council (NEC).
Adeleke is the Executive Governor of Osun State, southwest, Nigeria.
This, according to the Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, transpired on Thursday, at a meeting of the NEC.
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He noted that the meeting reviewed the state of Nigeria’s electricity sector and resolved to engage subnational structures to address current challenges in the sector.
“The meeting particularly sought to build on the devolution of the electricity sector and its movement into the concurrent legislative list which empowers state governments to regulate the sector in their respective areas,” he stated.
Consequently, the NEC, therefore set up an ad hoc committee to review actions in the sector by state governments and explore ways to ramp up activities through coordination, Rasheed highlighted.
The full list of members of NEC’s Ad-hoc Committee on National Electrification:
- Governor of Cross Rivers State, Bassey Out – Chairman, South-South
- Governor of Katsina State, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda – Chairman, North-West
- Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya – Chairman, North-East
- Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke – Chairman, South-West
- Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma – Chairman, South-East
- Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang – Chairman, North-Central
- Hon. Minister of Finance, Wale Edun
- Hon. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu
- Special Adviser, NEC and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai
- Special Adviser, Power Minister, Hon. Bolaji Tunji
- MD/CEO Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu
- MD/CEO Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Jennifer Adighije
- Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazak
- NEC Secretariat
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