Connect with us

Politics

INEC, APC Preloading Card Readers, Says Fayose

Published

on

The Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has accused the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission of colluding to preload card readers for the July 14 governorship election in the state.

The governor said the plot to manipulate the poll in favour of the APC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, was being perpetrated in Akure, Ondo State, in collaboration with the state government.

He made the allegation on Friday on a broadcast programme, ‘Governor Explains’, in Ado Ekiti.

Fayose, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, on Saturday, said, “I don’t want to bring this picture out yet, but those who said preloading is not possible are lying. Right now, they are doing manual preloading in Akure as I speak. For polling units with over 1,000 voters, they spread the preloading to between 50 and 200 votes per polling unit.

“In Ikere, 58 of such polling units were targeted and Ado Ekiti has 158 of such polling units. They want to get people they will stuff with the ballot papers and dump such papers in the ballot boxes at such polling units.

“They are also printing fake voter cards in Akure with support from the Ondo State Government. They are also working to bring in about 14,000 people from Ondo State to come and vote here. They have already issued fake 7,000 voter cards and they are daily printing this.

“They promised to give each person N15,000 if he/she helps them stuff ballot boxes with the fake ballot papers they are printing.”

He also challenged Fayemi to account for the over N46bn he collected as excess crude oil funds while in office.

According to the governor, Fayemi lacks the moral right to seek re-election after allegedly plunging the state into debt.

But the Director of Media and Publicity, Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Wole Olujobi, said Fayose’s conscience, for the first time, was pricking him over his “unprecedented, historic and historical 2014 poll fraud.”

He added, “All over the world, Fayose’s voice was heard on the popular Captain Sagir Koli’s audio tape harassing a major-general of the Nigerian Army and forcing him to carry out his orders to assist him in the manipulation of the electoral process through illegal arrests and intimidation of the opposition to enable him win the election.

“Fayose’s voice was heard on the audio tape talking about how he collected sensitive copies of INEC materials that he said he printed to win the election. On the same audio tape, he spoke about how he collated election results in Efon-Alaaye on Thursday, June 19, 2014, two clear days before the June 21, 2014 election.”

Politics

Edo PDP opposes suspension of LG bosses by state assembly, says ‘It’s unconstitutional’

Published

on

By

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.

The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.

In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.

“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.

“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.

“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.

“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”

Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.

Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.

“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.

“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”

The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.

Continue Reading

Politics

Ex-sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi resigns from PDP

Published

on

By

Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.

Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.

The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.

“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.

In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.

“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.

“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.

“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”

Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Continue Reading

Politics

PDP debunks inviting Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency

Published

on

By

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not extended an invitation to former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the presidency on its platform in the 2027 election.

Speaking with BBC Hausa, Ibrahim Abdullahi, deputy spokesperson of the country’s main opposition party, said no ticket has been issued to the former president.

Abdullahi said the party has many eligible people who can contest for the presidency on its platform, adding that a recent interview he granted was interpreted to mean that Jonathan he asked to run on the PDP platform.

“The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true,” he said.

“What happened is this, I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues.

“But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.

“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left.

“So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”

The deputy spokesperson said the ticket would be given to someone who has shown interest in running for the presidency.

Jonathan, then in the PDP, lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Continue Reading

Most Read...