Politics
Guber Poll: Court Orders INEC To Accept Temporary Voter Cards For Elections
On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a ruling directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to permit the use of Temporary Voter Cards during the upcoming governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
The elections are scheduled to take place on March 18th.
The court’s decision was in response to a lawsuit brought by two Nigerians who were dissatisfied with the use of Permanent Voter Cards and sought the inclusion of Temporary Voter Cards in the elections.
In a lawsuit filed on February 8th and labeled FHC/ABJ/CS/180/2023, the plaintiffs, Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell, contested the stance of INEC on the use of Temporary Voter Cards and requested the court to determine “whether a person whose name appears in the electronic format in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper based record or hard copy format of the register of voters and has been assigned a Voter’s Identification Number can be said to be entitled to be accredited to vote with his/her TVC in the general election to be conducted by the defendant.”
The plaintiffs also asked the court to determine if individuals can be deprived of their right to vote in the 2023 general election as a result of INEC’s omissions or liabilities.
They asked for “a declaration that the plaintiff, having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in its central database and manual, printed paper-based record or hard copy format of INEC’s maintained register of voters, the plaintiffs are entitled to vote using their TVC in the 2023 General Elections”.
In its ruling, the court stated that neither the 1999 Constitution nor the Electoral Act specified that only Permanent Voter Cards could be used for elections. The court cited Section 47 of the law, which refers to a “voter’s card,” as evidence that Temporary Voter Cards can also be utilized.
Justice Egwuatu declared that the order was issued based on the fact that the plaintiffs were properly registered and recorded in INEC’s database.
He ruled that, “an order is made compelling the defendant to allow the plaintiffs to vote using their Temporary Voter Cards issued by the defendant, the plaintiffs having been duly captured in the National Register of Voters database”.
The judge further held that the plaintiffs are entitled to vote using their TVC in the forthcoming 2023 general election “having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper-based record or hard copy format”.
Although the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and directed INEC to permit the use of Temporary Voter Cards during the upcoming elections, the third request in the lawsuit, which sought to allow every eligible voter with a TVC to vote, was not granted.
“Any other order, the court may deem fit for all other Nigerians who are like the plaintiffs and have not gotten their permanent voter’s card, as the court may deem fit”
The judge held that the suit was not filed in a representative capacity.
The court maintained that, “This suit having not been brought in a representative capacity, I find myself unable to grant any relief pursuant to prayer three of the plaintiffs application.”
Following the court’s ruling, Victor Opatola, the counsel representing the plaintiffs, expressed his satisfaction and stated that the judgement was a victory for all Nigerians who had experienced challenges registering to vote, were properly registered but were unable to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards before the election.
He said, “since my clients had fulfilled all necessary requirements by law but were not issued their PVCs until the time for collection of PVCs was over, they should not be allowed to suffer”.
The lawyer also said that it was the law of equity that what applied to the goose should also apply to the gander.
“So what the court is saying is that these two people who have fulfilled all necessary requirements can vote with their TVCs, then by law of equity, it should also apply to all Nigerians who have fulfilled all necessary requirements and were issued TVCs by INEC.” he added.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Ondo State governorship election held on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
Aiyedatiwa secured a decisive victory, polling 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr. Agboola Ajayi of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 117,845 votes.
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The APC swept all 18 local government areas of the state in a dominant performance that underscored its stronghold in Ondo.
The results were announced at INEC’s State Headquarters in Akure by the collation officer, Prof. Olayemi Akinwunmi.
“Having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the APC is hereby declared the winner of the Ondo State governorship election,” Prof. Akinwunmi stated.
Breakdown of Results by Local Government Areas:
1. Akure North: APC 14,451 | PDP 5,787
2. Akure South: APC 32,969 | PDP 17,926
3. Okitipupa: APC 26,811 | PDP 10,233
4. Ose: APC 16,555 | PDP 4,472
5. Owo: APC 31,914 | PDP 4,740
6. Akoko Northeast: APC 25,657 | PDP 5,072
7. Akoko Northwest: APC 25,010 | PDP 5,502
8. Akoko Southeast: APC 12,140 | PDP 2,692
9. Akoko Southwest: APC 29,700 | PDP 5,517
10. Ondo West: APC 20,755 | PDP 6,387
11. Ondo East: APC 8,163 | PDP 2,843
12. Ile Oluji/Oke-Igbo: APC 16,600 | PDP 4,442
13. Idanre: APC 9,114 | PDP 8,940
14. Irele: APC 17,117 | PDP 6,601
15. Ifedore: APC 14,157 | PDP 5,897
16. Ilaje: APC 24,474 | PDP 3,623 | LP 176
17. Ese Odo: APC 14,511 | PDP 7,814
18. Odigbo: APC 26,683 | PDP 9,348
The Labour Party (LP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) trailed far behind, with LP securing 1,162 votes and ZLP 2,692 votes across the state.
Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s victory cements the APC’s grip on Ondo State politics.
The governor-elect has promised to focus on economic development, improved infrastructure, and youth empowerment.
“This victory is not just for the APC but for every citizen of Ondo State. Together, we will build a brighter future,” Aiyedatiwa said in his acceptance speech.
The election, which was monitored by domestic and international observers, was largely peaceful, with only minor logistical challenges reported.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has swept all 18 local government areas in the Ondo State Governorship Election, maintaining a significant lead over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) resumed collation of results after a recess to allow the arrival of results from the remaining local governments, Ilaje and Ese Odo.
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Collation Officer Prof. Olayemi Akinwunmi explained, “I think we can just adjourn till 12 noon please. Two remaining local governments are not here yet, so we adjourn till 12 noon. The local governments, Ilaje and Ese Odo, are very far, so we need to give them time to arrive.”
While APC recorded victories across all announced results, the collation process faced a brief dispute in Idanre Local Government.
The PDP’s agent alleged issues of vote-buying, ballot box snatching, and the absence of elections in some areas.
He urged the returning officer to reject the results from Idanre, but no resolution was immediately provided.
INEC National Commissioner Prof. Kunle Ajayi, speaking earlier in Akure, reassured citizens that the results would be concluded and announced without delay.
“I can assure you that until we declare the winner, we won’t leave here. We will wait until the last local government before we leave. I don’t have any fear that even by 6 am, maybe everything would have been over,” Prof. Ajayi stated.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged victorious in Ogun State’s Local Government elections, sweeping all 20 chairmanship seats in the polls held on Saturday.
The Chairman of the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), Babatunde Osibodu, confirmed the results at the commission’s headquarters in Abeokuta, declaring that the APC also secured wins in all 236 wards across the state.
According to Osibodu, a total of 613,156 votes were cast during the chairmanship elections across the 20 local government areas.
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However, the outcome has sparked strong opposition.
The Labour Party (LP), along with other opposition groups, has rejected the election results, accusing OGSIEC of misconduct and irregularities.
In a press briefing, Ogun State Labour Party Chairman, Biodun Jagun, called for the cancellation of the entire election, alleging widespread malpractices.
“There was no election in most polling units in Ogun State,” Jagun claimed, citing the absence of OGSIEC officials and electoral materials in over 90% of polling stations by 1:30 pm.
“In the few polling units where materials arrived, they were incomplete and came much later than the scheduled 8 am start time.”
Jagun emphasized that the party and its supporters would not accept the results and vowed to challenge the election in court if OGSIEC did not annul the exercise.
“We reject the results of this flawed election and call on OGSIEC to cancel it,” he stated. “Failure to do so will leave us with no choice but to pursue legal action.”
Despite the controversy, the elections saw participation from 19 political parties, including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Young Progressive Party (YPP).
Nevertheless, it was the APC that dominated the election, further solidifying its control in Ogun State.
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