*** Security forces on red alert
The Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, has expressed
optimism that results of the
presidential and National Assembly
elections would be announced on a
national level today.
Accordingly, final collation of the
results would start by 12pm at the
National Collation Centre in Abuja.
INEC said it will only declare results
when they have been collated from the
states.
According to the commission, in spite
of the several glitches that marred the
exercise in some parts of the country,
most results had been collated and
were being expected at the
commission’s headquarters last night.
Chairman of the Commission, Prof.
Attahiru Jega stated this last night in
Abuja when he gave a preliminary
assessment of the polls.
Several challenges, including the late
commencement of elections,
accreditation issues and security
breaches forced the postponement of
the polls in 387 polling units spread
across the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja, Lagos, Kebbi, Niger, Yobe,
Borno, Adamawa, Jigawa and Taraba
states.
While the elections in the affected
polling units were concluded yesterday,
collation was still being done at the
local government level as at the time
of filing this report.
This came even as the INEC boss
vowed to identify and sanction one of
its Presiding Officers in Taraba State,
who allegedly allowed under-age voting
in his polling unit during Saturday’s
elections.
On the Taraba incident, Jega said
under-age voting is against the law.
“We are investigating the reports and
we will take measures once this is
done.
“There was one clip that has been in
circulation since yesterday (Saturday)
afternoon about an underage voter said
to be from Taraba and we have
mandated our Resident Electoral
Commissioner to investigate it
thoroughly and identify where this
happened and to also identify the
polling official who did it because it is
clearly illegal to allow and underaged
person.
“There were a few other reported cases
in which some observers said they
have seen under aged voting, we are
yet to see details which would have
enable us to investigate these
malpractices,” he said.
On the challenges encountered in
Rivers State, the INEC boss said All
Progressives Congress, APC, wrote the
commission yesterday, calling for the
cancellation of the polls.
The INEC boss also dismissed
concerns that the commission was
under intense pressure to declare
inconclusive elections.
While he said the failure of the card
readers was a big shock to him, he
added that it was very probable that
many of the electoral officials had not
been trained in handling the device.
He also evaluated the situation in Delta
State and said the commission has
received reports that its ad hoc staff
were substituted but that
investigations were already ongoing to
ascertain the veracity of the claims.
On claims by the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, that it was leading in 23
states, Jega said he would not know
where the party got its own results.
“I do not know where the PDP
spokesman got his source, but we
have not collated results in 23 states,”
he said.
Jega called on Nigerians to disregard
any result that does not emanate from
the commission.
He urged Nigerians to avoid listening to
such announcements from people that
are clearly partisan.
“The Commission warns strongly
against unofficial announcements and
declaration of results by unauthorised
persons and channels, particularly
online sites. Only INEC is empowered
by law to announce results and it is an
offence for anyone to preempt the
Commission”.
He said the Commission has taken
notice of hitches that were experienced
during the election ranging from
difficulty in using the card readers to
late arrival of INEC officials to the
polling units and security challenges,
adding that efforts would be made to
avert such in future elections.
In another development, Nigerians and
the international community were
yesterday alerted by APC of alleged
ongoing plans by the PDP and
President Goodluck Jonathan to tamper
with the results of Saturday’s elections
and circumvent the people’s will.
Speaking through its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a
statement issued in Lagos yesterday,
APC said it has information to the
effect that some clandestine meetings
were being held with the sole aim of
changing the result of the election.
“The information that we have received
since we issued our last statement is
to the effect that the Jonathan
administration is holding clandestine
meetings with security chiefs and
others with the sole aim of altering or
scuttling the results, which they
consider to be highly embarrassing and
unpalatable, using malleable Resident
Electoral Commissioners, RECs,”
Mohammed said.
Warning that nothing but the authentic
results held by the party’s agents and
all other stakeholders will be
acceptable, and that whoever is
planning to do otherwise should weigh
its implication on the survival of the
nation’s democracy, APC said the
moves to manipulate the results are
also being replicated in some states,
including Bauchi, where everything is
being done to reverse the outcome, and
Imo, where many aides of Governor
Rochas Okorocha are being brutalised
and arrested in hordes.
Mohammed said: “We know they are
stunned dizzy by the crushing defeat
which has been inflicted on them
across the nation, going by the results
in the hands of our agents.
“We know they have activated their
paid media channels to seek to confuse
Nigerians by making outlandish claims
that their presidential candidate is
leading in the elections.
“We know they are counting on
malleable RECs to thwart the will of
the people, and we know they have no
qualms about plunging the nation into
crisis just because of narrow interests.
“This is why we are putting on red alert
all the good people of Nigeria who
trooped out in large numbers, defying
the sun and the rain and against all
odds, to vote for change.
“We are also by this statement calling
on the international community to
urgently prevail on the Nigerian
authorities not to tamper with the
results of the elections as expressed by
Nigerians.
“As we have said many times, we will
accept the outcome of the elections if
they are free and fair. What we will not
accept is the manipulated outcome of
the polls.”
In a related development, security
forces have been deployed in readiness
for any attempts to breach the peace
across the country, after the
announcement of the results of the
presidential elections today.
Our correspondent learnt from top
security sources that more operatives
have been drafted by various agencies
to reinforce operations in any eventual
attempt by miscreants to break the
law.
The source said that security chiefs
were not taking chances over the result
announcement and as such, were
battle-ready.
It was learnt that the security chiefs
have already advised that curfew must
be imposed with immediate effect in
any state where there is imminent
breakdown of law and order.
The source said that State of
Emergency across the country was not
ruled out in view of the alleegd
desperation and agitation that have
characterised the electioneering
processes.
Already in Abuja and environs, there
has been massive deployment of
security, both on the highways and
within the city as well as the
hinterlands.
Soldiers and police operatives were
sighted intensifying road blocks on the
highways into Abuja, delaying
commuters to ascertain their
movements.
Checks have been intensified along the
Keffi-Abuja roads, Kaduna-Abuja,
Lokoja- Abuja roads, as well as any
known routes leading into the Federal
Capital Territory, FCT.
Equally, military and police operatives
are carrying out surveillance in notable
black spots in the territory and
environs as well as in the hinterlands
where miscreants have been identified.
Our correspondents learnt that plain
clothed security operatives, including
operatives of Department of State
Services, DSS and Directorate of
Military Intelligence, DMI, have been
deployed to fish out all categories of
trouble makers for immediate arrest.
Defence Headquarters, DHQ, has said
that citizens need not fear as security
forces will ensure that lives and
property are protected.
In a tweet on its twitter handle, the
DHQ said that it was prepared to
safeguard democracy, indicating that it
would go after all trouble makers.
Meanwhile, results coming in showed
Gen. Muhammadu Buhari still leading
President Goodluck Jonathan in the
presidential race.
In Osun, Ogun, Oyo and Kano states,
results so far released showed Buhari
leading, while President Jonathan
cleared Ekiti State, where he polled
176,474 votes to beat the APC
candidate, who garnered 120,332
votes.
Buhari is coasting to victory in Kano
after results from 20 local governments
were released.
The APC candidate secured the large
chunk of the results from the 20 local
governments announced at the state
INEC headquarters, on Hajj Camp road.
The returning officers from the 20 local
governments took turn to present the
results to the state collation officer,
Prof. Muhammadu Hamisu, with party
agents and observers in attendance.
The local governments, which results
were announced are, Kibiya, Gabasawa,
Albasu, Bagwai, Kunchi, Tsanyawa,
Gaya, Tofa, Rano, Wudil, Bunkure,
Makoda, Gezawa, Garun Mallam, Kura,
Kumbotso, Dawakin Tofa, Ajingi,
Madobi and Kabo.
The results showed that 798, 821
people voted on Saturday, with Buhari,
securing 686, 981 votes, while
Jonathan scored 91, 687 votes.
About 16, 997 votes were declared
invalid.
PDP won all the three senatorial and
the six House of Representatives seats
in Ekiti.
With the development, two APC
senators seeking re-election, Senators
Olu Adetumbi (Ekiti North) and Anthony
Adeniyi (Ekiti South) lost their bids as
well as their House of Representatives
counterparts: Hons Bimbo Daramola,
Oyetunde Ojo, Robinson Ajiboye,
Bamidele Faparusi, and Ife Arowosoge.
In Ogun East, Prince Buruji Kashamu of
the PDP was declared winner with 99,
540 votes to beat his APC challenger,
who polled 84, 001, while the candidate
of the Social Democratic Party, SDP
scored 12, 972 In Ogun Central, APC
candidate, Prince Lanre Tejuoso is
leading.
Senator Sola Adeyeye, APC, won the
Osun Central Senatorial District with
137,379 to PDP’s candidate, who
scored 82,529
In Lagos, INEC has declared the
candidates of APC, winners of Lagos
Island Federal Constituencies 1 and 2.
Mrs. Martha Amadi, the Returning
Officer for the Lagos Island Federal
Constituency 1, said that Mr. Enitan
Badru of the APC polled 15,389 votes
to beat Mr. Lukman Oladipo of the PDP
who secured 5,732 votes.
The Returning Officer for Lagos Island
Federal Constituency 2, Mr. Adekunle
Salvador, said that Mr. Yakubu Balogun
of the APC got 16,437 votes while Mr.
Rahman Salawe of the PDP secured
7,305 votes.
The Returning Officer for Lagos Central
senatorial election, Mr. Adebisi
Adegbola, told journalists that the
election was inconclusive on Saturday
in one council area.
In Delta State, Deputy Leader, House of
Representatives, Leo Okuweh Ogor was
declared winner of Isoko Federal
Constituency election.
Ogor who is being reelected for the
fourth term on the platform of PDP
defeated three other contenders.
While declaring the result, the
Returning Officer for Isoko Federal
Constituency, Dr Omosode Osafile said
Ogor polled 79,052 to defeat his
closest rival, Mr. Daniel Oyovwe of the
APC, who polled 6,626 votes, while the
candidate of SDP came third with 4,257
votes.
Meanwhile, reports from Ondo State
indicated that Governor Olusegun
Mimiko lost the state Central Senate
seat to the opposition candidate.
The result which gave the APC
candidate the advantage further
confirms the inability of the governor to
deliver the state to President Goodluck
Jonathan even as the coordinator of
his campaign in the South-West

Medical team should be close to GEJ in case of heart attack.

Lets go there

Idrismusty97:
Medical team should be close to GEJ in case of heart attack.

Well said! And EFCC and other responsible agents should also be on standby incase he tries to flee.

KenJak:


Well said! And EFCC and other responsible agents should also be on standby incase he tries to flee.

In Rivers state, violence is expected regardless of who wins. They should send reasonable security agents here, not the type they sent for the elections

Rivers and Edo shld be inconclusive and cancelled or postponed

It won't be possible.

Ok