₦airaland Forum

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of being jittery over the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), saying that the device would expose the party to ridicule following their abysmal performance since 2015.

Speaking during a live television programme yesterday, the spokesperson of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, said the APC fought very hard to ensure that the law backing deployment of technology in electoral process was not passed in the National Assembly.
According to him, “the PDP is very much disposed to the use of BVAS and can never be part of those planning to bring down the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu because we believe that he is doing his best to improve on our electoral process”.

“The APC candidate and their members were not comfortable with the use of BVAS and you will recall when the National Assembly was debating on the Electronic Transfer of Result, the Deputy President of the Senate who is governorship candidate of the APC in Delta State, Ovie Omo-Agege and many others vehemently opposed that particular innovation and that is to tell you that the APC are not too comfortable with the BVAS.

“BVAS is going to be a game changer and as a party we are very confident that we will win through normal voting and we are hopeful that the votes of Nigerians will count.

“The INEC Chairman and his team have done so well, they may have their pitfalls as human beings but one can rate them far above average on the reforms they have brought to bear on our electoral system.

“And to a large extent I want to believe that they have been quite neutral in the electoral process we are having at the moment,” he said.
Ahead of the election, he said he expected that, “the security agencies will beef up security around these institutions and police all the length and breadth of this country for the purpose of getting Nigerians to have the confidence to turn out on election day and for INEC to also have the confidence to deploy both sensitive and non-sensitive materials on election day. So it’s not out of place that INEC raised the alarm.”

On why President Muhammadu Buhari was allegedly not disposed to campaigning for APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, Aniagwu who is also Commissioner for information in Delta, said the president had no confidence in the ability of Tinubu to turn things around for the country.
“What Buhari saw during the primaries of the APC, the governors failed to see it and it was quite clear the president wasn’t comfortable handing over to Tinubu given his level of integrity.

“Buhari may not have done so well for the nation given where we are now, but there are certain things you can’t take away from him.
“He is a man reputed not to be a thief and he is a man reputed to be a great patriot but for the fact that his administration did not perform up to expectations is largely because of his ability which he has also acknowledged that he did his best which obviously was not good enough.

“So when you saw him in Adamawa asking the electorate to vote candidates with integrity and he failed to mention the name of the party’ presidential candidate, it clearly shows that the man does not wish that Tinubu wins the Presidency.

“Buhari is not campaigning for Tinubu because he knows that he doesn’t have what it takes to turn things around for this country,” he added.
Aniagwu further said that Atiku Abubakar’s visit to London was in line with the party’s quest to build a global economy that will have the buy-in of the international community.

The National Vice-President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who is also the President of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Reverend Dr. Stephen Baba Panya, speaks in this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO on the forthcoming general election, expectations of Nigerians, insecurity, and other issues.

By February 25th of this year, Nigerians will go to the polls to elect their president and members of the National Assembly. What are your expectations?

No one can predict with certainty who the winner of the presidency of this country will be; it is going to be a close contest. But there are two determinant factors and we believe that the will of God will prevail at the end of the day. God has given the responsibility and authority to the children of God to pray for His will to be done here on earth as it is written in heaven.

This is what we commonly refer to in our Lord’s Prayer: “Let your will be done as it is in heaven.” When we pray concerning our nation’s destiny, He will hear us. Secondly, we need to take our civic responsibility very seriously; we must involve ourselves in politics at all levels. Also, believers in Christ should stand for election at various levels to contest for office. They should do it with the sole aim of making a difference in terms of the transformation and improvement of the standard of living.

What are the main factors that Nigerians should consider most fundamental when electing the next president of the country?

I don’t have to reinvent the wheel, because I am the vice president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as well as president of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), but we thank God that the research arm of CAN has brought out the major qualities that Christians and indeed all voters in Nigeria should look for in these presidential candidates.

These qualities are clearly stated in our handbills and also on social media. Some of the qualities include: the fear of God, honesty and fairness, respect for the rule of law, justice and fairness for all, respect for religion and ethnic diversity, and a clean and credible lifestyle.

They should be able to give a competent and credible performance and this should be based on their antecedents in the previous positions they might have held. We are looking for people, who will support the state police, restructuring and many other qualities.

Do you see any of these qualities in some of the front-runners campaigning to be president, governor, and other positions in this country?

They keep saying they will do all things; the question is, who can we trust because we have been taken for too many rides? That is why this time around, we have to pray hard that as much as we assess these candidates and go for those we think will do all these things, ultimately it is God who knows people’s hearts and we have to depend on God to lead us right as far as this election is concerned so that we can support the right candidate. Honestly, as human beings, we are very limited in our abilities to discern whether we will keep our promises or not. In the past, people came with sweet promises, but because their hearts were unchanged, they came into the office and did the opposite.

Sir, the concern of most Nigerians currently is that the campaigns so far are not issue-based; they have not come to tell Nigerians how they intend to tackle critical issues confronting the country for now. What are your thoughts on this?

The problem is not with the issues; the problem is with the implementation of their promises. The problem has always been the implementation of policies based on their promises. In the past, when attempts were made to have candidates go on television to debate, they often came up with bogus manifestos and presentations.

When you go through them, you will think that when they come into power, Nigeria will be transformed. But the very moment they step into the office, they do the opposite. They just turned out to be selfish and greedy like their predecessors, but we pray that God will help us choose the people who will make a difference this time around.

How can Nigerians make their elected representatives accountable and responsive?

It is one thing to point out the promises they have made, but it is another thing for them to respond to your complaint. For example, this present government came into power with a lot of promises. Some of the promises are that petroleum will be cheaper; there will be more jobs and all kinds of promises.

They promised to tackle insecurity within three months, but none of these has happened; instead, things have continued to deteriorate at an abysmal level. At one point in time, there was a need for the service chiefs to be changed. The National Assembly itself passed many resolutions in this regard, but nothing was done by the Executive. Reconstruction of the security architecture was not done despite the cries by Nigerians from various quarters; the government just didn’t do anything.

This present administration refused to listen to the pleas and yearnings of Nigerians, but only to effect the change at a belated time. Even up till now, in terms of a general overhaul of the security architecture, nothing is being done. The composition is still lopsided, and factors such as religion, ethnicity, and others are not taken into consideration.

As the saying goes, you can only take a horse to the river; you can’t force it to drink. We can’t force the government to do what it should. That is why this election is very important, and we pray that Nigerians will vote for credible people who will have compassion for the citizens and arrest the deteriorating situation so that it doesn’t reach a situation where the country will disintegrate.

Do you think the next members of the National Assembly will be able to perform their constitutional responsibilities, without being an appendage of the executive arms?

We are expecting the National Assembly members to be above board, function as contained in the constitution, and perform their check and balance role effectively. So far, the outgoing ones have not been effective. The problem we have in Nigeria is that the National Assembly or its leadership has always seen itself as the appendage of the Executive arms for reasons best known to them. So, they have not served as a check on the Executive.

Some people are beginning to fear that the forthcoming election might be postponed on account of insecurity in some parts of the country. What do you think can be done to allay the fear of Nigerians?

Any attempt to postpone the election will be disastrous, and we have to pray against this. To me, it will be a recipe for chaos, because people are already fed up. What is keeping the tension down is the fact that this administration will soon go, and there is an inner hope that the next government will be able to tackle and address the deteriorated situation.

According to the figure released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s debt profile might hit N77 trillion by May this year; don’t you see this as a landmine for the next government?

Certainly, but I still believe in one thing: if we have credible people in government by May 29th of this year, the present level of corruption can still be tackled and I also strongly believe that the debt and other problems of Nigeria are surmountable. The problem is that if we have a government that will continue this way, things will get worse.

Don’t let anyone fool you, we are at the precipice in this country; our nation needs prompt intervention, and that is why people are yearning for a change. People are sick and tired of what is happening as far as this country is concerned. But if we have credible people who will check corruption and who will be firm to tackle the insecurity and revive the economy, things will begin to fall into the proper place.

Did CAN still maintain its stance against the Muslim-Muslim ticket?

Let me just say unequivocally that we are still standing firm and opposing the Muslim-Muslim ticket. We are opposed to it, because of its implications for the polity and governance of this country. However, CAN has to be open and listen to all and sundry, which is why CAN still gives people opportunities to come and speak to it, so that it can hear and pray about the situation that we are in.

We have not changed our position at all; we are still firmly against the Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket and also against the same faith ticket because of the potential danger it poses to the unity and continued existence of this country. We are against the same faith ticket, be it Muslim/Muslim or Christian/Christian. We believe people should begin to run an inclusive government with people from all walks of life, balancing equity, fairness, and justice in the positions of government and operations.

A Legal practitioner, Barrister Ken Eluma Asogwa, has dragged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Director General, Department of State Security Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for alleged negligence and breach of professional duties towards the Presidential candidate of Labour Party.

A Legal practitioner, Barrister Ken Eluma Asogwa, has dragged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Director General, Department of State Security Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for alleged negligence and breach of professional duties towards the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter G. Obi.

In a Motion marked, FHC/HC/2023 and dated January 13, the applicant relying on Chapter iv of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 4 of Police Act, Section 2(3) of National Security Agencies Act and Order 3 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019 and the inherent jurisdiction of court, prayed the court to declare that the respondents were negligent and breached their professional duties in allowing a mammoth crowd surround Obi “a potential President of Nigeria” at very close proximity at a campaign rally in Enugu, Enugu State.

Other prayers include declarations that by allowing a mammoth crowd and unauthorized persons to surround Obi at very close proximity, the respondents exposed him to danger and a threat to good governance in Nigeria and therefore, unlawful, wrongful and unconstitutional, and that the applicant has the right to vote for Obi in the 2023 Presidential election “and a potential President of Nigeria whose presidency the applicant believes will be a source of liberation for him and that of his family, and the candidate is therefore entitled to full state protection by the respondents.

The applicant also prayed the court to declare that Mr. Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 Presidential election and a potential President of Nigeria is entitled to protection from harm and danger from the defendants under the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Police Act, and an order mandating the respondents to provide adequate security and protection to Obi during campaigns, rallies, during and after the election.

In a 19-paragraph affidavit disposed to by the applicant in support of the Motion, he averred that Obi has the capacity and the competence to fix Nigeria and provide a better life for him and his family.

The applicant further stated that he has been following up with the campaign trails of Obi and was alarmed that in his campaign rallies, adequate security are not provided for him; that during the campaign in Enugu, Obi was surrounded by a mammoth crowd which made it impossible for him to pass, and he was hurriedly and luckily taken away from the crowd for safety by unauthorized persons.

According to him, Obi’s life was put in great and grave danger and the possibility of personal harm on his life was visible as he was almost stampeded in the process.

He further averred that his life and those of his family are dependent on future good governance which Obi has promised to offer; that the respondents have a statutory duty to provide adequate security and protect Obi’s life.

The applicant, therefore, seeks orders and interventions from the court to safeguard the life of Obi and protect the future of the applicant.

In his written address, the applicant cited different provisions of the law that supported his motion and submitted that by the combined provisions of the laws, Obi is entitled to the protection and reliefs captured in this originating motion.

dynicks:
That no.7 sha..!!

So what are u implying...? That tinubu and Apc are directly proportional to RIGGING?

Buddha3:
All through that lengthy write-up, they failed to specifically mention what Shettima has done wrong.

An All Progressives Congress (APC) group under the auspices of North East APC Youth Stakeholders Forum, has declared war against the party’s vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, the group warned that apart from the interim measure of withdrawing their support from him, they will unfold a more drastic action against him in the next few days.

Chairman of the group, Shaibu Baffa Tilde, who disclosed their position in his address during the briefing, claimed that Shettima’s actions have led to millions of party members leaving in droves.

“We are saddened to be in the news for what others will interpret as a negative reason this time, but we are also obligated by our love for our great party, the APC, to make this timely intervention before our party’s fortunes in the region sink.

“We do not need to emphasise that this is an injury time for the game because the general election is less than two months away, leaving no room for error, but instead attention must be focused on tightening all loose ends, which is not the case with our party in the northeast.

“It is with deep regret and concern that we report that the fortunes of our great party in the Northeast are on the verge of collapse due to the obstinate, careless, and exclusive leadership style of our vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima,” they hinted on his sins.

Speaking further, the group noted that: “Northeast APC Youth Forum has watched with tears as its many supporters continue to defect to the PDP. Unfortunately, the trend in the Northeast zone is worsening by the day, with Kashim seemingly turning a blind eye to these heinous developments in our party in the region.

“We the Youths in the Northeast have lost our Zonal Treasurer from his home state of Borno, Yusuf Shariff Banki, due to his failure to support youth in the region to launch massive mobilization. It is worth noting that Sheriff led over 500,000 youth to the PDP.

“As if that wasn’t enough, our Zonal Organizing Secretary, Murtala Gamji of Taraba, led over 200 youth to the NNPP, and our Zonal Women Leader, Amina Manga of Bauchi, led one million women to the PDP.

“Of the eight million youth votes we have already mobilized for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our presidential candidate for the presidential polls, Kashim Shettime has already plundered over three million through his actions with the wave of defections from our party. This is simply unacceptable!

“In light of this, we urge our party’s vice presidential candidate to immediately reverse his steps and correct his error for the sake of the party, the region, and the teaming youth.

“It is on record that this group, then led by it’s current Acting Chairman, Shaibu Baffa Tilde, threw their support behind Shettima and committed massive resources, both human and financial, to ensure he emerged as the APC’s vice presidential candidate.

“We do not seek compensation from Shettima, but our resentment stems from his failure to recognize a formidable Youth force of the party that stood by him through thick and thin after realizing his ambition to become reality as vice presidential candidate from the northeast region.

“As a result, the Northeast APC Youth Forum wishes to withdraw its unequivocal support for Shettima. Our actions should not be misinterpreted, but rather judged by our affection for our dear party.

“While we intend to take our next steps regarding his candidacy in the coming days, we would like to express our unwavering support for our presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and the APC. We will continue to work for the advancement and victory of our beloved party in the upcoming general elections,” they promised.

Kingsley34:
Our only challenge to emerging victorious remains the core north.....we just pray for block vote in ss and se region

amanda2013:
Not just arrogant but also selfish, wicked and very dangerous. He is too ambitious and has agreed to sacrifice Christians on the alter of ambition. But he will fail. He wants to give boko haram a very good reason to declare a full blown jihad in Nigeria. But God will never allow him.

SHINJA:
From the name and ur appearance you look healthy,I know you will vote for Obi...

Only poor wretched drug addicts like tinubu

Jagabanofafrica:
Yes oooo
I like him like dat

TINUBU is the next President
Yoruba lokan
Yoruba lokan
Yoruba lokan
Yoruba lokan

The spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar campaign council, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is too arrogant and that he would not win the election, pointing out that he stood up in front of 200 million Nigerians and said "Emilokan."

He revealed in an interview with Arise News that Tinubu is not someone who deserves power. He however stated that God would give power to the person who he wants, not by someone saying it's his turn.

According to him, "When God wants to give power, he doesn't look at your stature, he doesn't look at your face; if it's your turn, it is your turn." Who would the power go to? Emilokan? Somebody who stood up in a country of over 200 million people and said, "Emikokan, you'll give him power with all this arrogance?" You can't give that kind of person power. Nigerians will not even give him that, and that's the truth.

Donwilson88:
This is really sympathetic
We are living in a region where mediocres are greater than well reasoning people

As 2023 general elections draw closer, Nigerians in various parts of the country have mostly settled for Lab our presidential candidate Peter Obi as their preferred choice in a physical poll conducted in December 2022, with barely two months to D-day.

The result of polls conducted between the 1st and 4th of December by the media outfit BantuPage, showed that Labour Party’s Obi was preferred by most of the eligible voters in the Federal Capital Territory, Southeast, South-south and North-central geopolitical zones.

The overall poll revealed that 37% of the polled respondent spread in all the geo-graphical zones preferred Obi. While 15%, 14% and 4% preferred the APC, PDP and NNPP respectively, 17% of the respondents were still undecided, 9% do not intend to vote with 4% unwilling to disclose their preferred candidates.

In the direct physical poll conducted by the media team in the country, Nigerian electorates in the selected states revealed that the preference for their candidates were based on religion, competence and other reasons.

Analysis of the poll results by BantuPage revealed that most respondents representing 19% of the both male and female population within the three selected states of Kano, Katsina and Kaduna preferred NNPP’s Kwankwaso in the Northwest. Though 18%, 15% and 7% had PDP, APC and LP respectively as their second preference, a whopping 32% were still undecided.

The result was however different in Northeast as PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku polled more with 38% respondents choosing him as their preferred candidate while LP, APC and NNPP had 15%, 12% and 2% respectively with 27% eligible voters undecided.

Results from the South-south region, mostly in Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Edo states, LP’s presidential candidate Obi led the way with 66% respondents for voting intent. PDP and APC were both tied at 7% each, while 3 % preferred NNPP and 6% still undecided.

For North Central respondents, 45% intend to vote LP, while 14%, 13% and 3% had a preference for APC, PDP and NNPP respectively with 15% yet undecided.

Southwest respondents preferred the APC candidate with the ruling party amassing 34%, followed by LP and PDP with 23% and 17% respectively. Only 1% of polled respondent intended to vote for the NNPP candidate although 17% were still undecided. While the APC candidate may have won the entire Southwest region, the poll results showed that he actually came in second in Lagos state to LP, polling only 28% while LP had 31%. Further analysis revealed that this LP’s victory in Lagos was influenced by the fact that Lagos is a multi-ethnic city. A drill down on how Yorubas voted in Lagos revealed that Tinubu would have won Lagos with 47% and LP would have been a distant second at only 10%.

The LP also had the highest preference amongst respondents from the Southeast with 72% of voting intentions. The APC and PDP each scored 3% and 2% respectively of voting intent while the NNPP scored zero. Despite voter apathy and security challenges occasioned by the clamour for secession in the South East, there was a very high intent to vote with only 6% yet undecided.

Similarly, result of polls conducted in the Federal Capital Territory gave LP wide edge with 44% while APC, PDP and NNPP got 11%, 10% and 3% respectively. With 11% still undecided.

Areas polled in Federal capital territory were Garki Area 1, Asokoro, Wuse Zone 5, Gudu, Bwari Area Council, Gwagwalada Area Council Zuba, Gwagwalada Area Council Tunga Maje, Gwagwalada Area Council, University of Abuja, Gwagwalada Area Council Giri, Kuje Area Council Kuje Ibi, Kuje Area Council Kuje Market, Kuje Ako, Kuje Area Council Kuje Guduaba, Garki Area 2, Garki Area 10, Garki Area 3, Wuse 2 and Jabi.

Talking about the rationale behind the choice of candidates and voting intentions, the spokesperson for BantuPage in a statement made available Friday, said, “What’s also interesting here is that ethnicity and religion, which are two of Nigeria’s fault lines, had little impact on respondents’ choice of voting intention. Our data showed that of the 59% of our respondents who gave a reason for their voting intentions, only 2% said religion was their motivator, 3% for ethnicity, 1% for party affiliation, 11% for change, 13% for age, and a staggering 70% for capacity and trust.

“Again, we made sure our numbers per area were limited and spread across the cities/states so that our results would be as representative as possible of the demographic area.”

“These polling results from BantuPage poll is the first of three series expected to be conducted before the election to gauge the feelings of Nigerians especially to know if the results of the first poll will be replicated or whether voting intentions have changed or some of the undecided voters had settled for a particular candidate as election gets ever closer.

“Our first monthly poll has just concluded, and we are looking to publish these. One thing that is very different from our numbers is that we broke down our interviews in different categories apart from the usual a yes or no on whom the respondents are likely to vote for.

“We intend to run a once-a-month general polling on the above categories, i.e. December 2022 (just completed polls), January, and February just before the election.

“We selected three states from each geo-political zone for our polls, normally, not more than 10 respondents in each community or local government with the exemption of Lagos and Kano where the population numbers are quite high. Unlike other polls conducted, 95% of our respondents were recorded (all recordings are available), whilst 5% were voice recordings of polled individuals who didn’t wish to be captured on video recording. In our January polls, we will cover the remaining three states in each geopolitical zone that we did not poll during our December polls, whilst we intend to capture the entire country in one fell swoop in our penultimate polling in February.

“Our polls are the most comprehensive and detailed ever carried out in Nigeria. Our results are peer reviewed for rigour and robustness, and our sampling ensured that any chance of inadvertent bias was eliminated,” the poll coordinators added.

seguno2:
Very demonic, I tell you.
Imagine that ThiefNuibu saying calling Christians church rats who eat poisoned Holy Communion?

Is that not enough omen for wise Christians to vote against the Muslim/Muslim calamity

sapele914:
You cannot claim your papa is better than Tinubu educationally, materially or intellectually.

So please Peasant, Shut up, we know those at the bottom gossip the most.

sapele914:
Maybe you don’t know say train no dey reverse? the caravan has long left the station.

kimjongJezebel:
The Jimi Adebayo's family has now gotten all their PVCs, 5 in total. My two sisters are first time voters. All 5 PVCs are now for Balogun Omowale Peter Adebayo obi.

Our parents resisted and have always wanted to vote Emilokan but my two sisters did a good job to convinced them to change their minds. Not easy to change old peoples' minds about their beliefs but we did it. APC gave us a sick Emilokan who can't make a coherent speech instead of an intelligent man like Osinbajo. Even if Obi doesn't win, we'll be at peace that we try to change the system.

May God bless all Obidients!

sapele914:
If you aren’t an oblivious minded hypocrite, what is the difference between Datti-Baba Ahmad & haters and terrorists like Shettima, El-Rufai and Ganduje?

SHINJA:
My bro..I don stay north . I don see things.

SHINJA:
Hmmmm

Curse be upon any stupid Christian that will vote for tinubu..

It will never be well with you and your family...

God bless Southsouth and Southwest

Osibajo2023:
shut up

Osibajo2023:
I am a Christian, Tinubu in Lagos, never use religion to do his things, ambode & Sanwo olu are both christian

ganisucks:
You're right. He prefers to use ethnicity.

fredoooooo:
Every sensible Omoluabi will vote Sowore if we teuky want change in Nigeria.
Afterall sowore is never an APC or PDP member.
Achievements and track records Tinubu
A new person to lead and rule Sowore
Where exactly is Obis forte ? Lying I guess

Banbutton:
Best qualifed to lead Nigeria to doom, but least qualified to lead Nigeria to success.

Afe pls be specific with words.
A GCE ANINI can't rule the Great nation.