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The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday said that the ballot papers for this month’s general elections were ready. The spokesman for the INEC’s National Chairman, Kayode Idowu, made this known to The PUNCH just as feelers indicated that in Abuja that Thursday’s(today) Council of State meeting might be stormy. The council, which consists of the President, the Vice President, all former Presidents and ex- Heads of State as well as all state governors, is expected to deliberate on the calls for the postponement of the elections. Other members of the council are all former Chief Justices of Nigeria, the President of the Senate and the Attorney-General of the Federation. One of the key responsibilities of the body is to advise the President in the exercise of his powers with respect to INEC, including the appointments of members of the commission. The Presidency is believed to be favourably disposed to the postponement of the elections while the APC insists that the elections must hold as scheduled. But while the Presidency and the APC were busy strategising on Wednesday evening on how to have an upper hand, Idowu told The PUNCH that INEC still stood by its timetable for the polls. He said that apart from the ballot papers being ready, 65.5 per cent of the Permanent Voter Cards had as of Monday been distributed to registered voters across the country. He said, “We have distributed 48,098,000 which represents 65.5 per cent of the PVCs . We have also taken delivery of ballot papers for the elections.” Asked to be specific on whether the elections would be postponed as being canvassed in some quarters, he replied, “Has the commission issued any statement reneging on its earlier timetable? “If we have not done that, that means nothing has changed.” The PUNCH gathered on Wednesday night that the commission had commenced the movement of materials to states and local government areas ahead of the February 14 presidential and National Assembly elections. Idowu, had in a statement on Wednesday, refuted an earlier report by Reuters, claiming that the elections might be postponed if voter cards distribution was too low. He said that there was no reason for anyone to suggest that the exercise might be shifted because “the number of PVCs already collected rates highly in comparison to the level of voter turnout historically in Nigerian elections.” He explained that a National Commissioner of INEC, Amina Zakari, gave a hint that the deadline for PVC collection might be further extended. The statement read, “I write to refute your story in Reuters attributing National Commissioner of INEC, Zakari, as saying that the 2015 general elections may be delayed if the number of PVCs collected by voters is too low. “I was at the Situation Room Dialogue with INEC in Abuja this (Wednesday) morning and I know that the commissioner spoke in regard to the February 8 deadline for the collection of PVCs, nothing about the schedule of the general elections. “You said she spoke to you ‘on the sidelines’ of the event. Well, I have checked with the commissioner and she denied that the issue discussed was the schedule of the 2015 elections. “You had during the question-and-answer session at the event asked about the notably low level of collection in some states and the implication for voter turnout, which the commission had missed out in her responses. “Later ‘on the sidelines’ she explained to you that the number of PVCs already collected rates highly in comparison to the level of voter turnout historically in Nigerian elections. “Still, she added, INEC has not completely foreclosed the possibility of granting a few days of extension in isolated cases of low percentage of collection after February 8. “The inference you’ve made for the schedule of elections is entirely yours, and misrepresents the conversation that took place at the event this(Wednesday) morning.” Our correspondents however gathered that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the APC presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and all the APC governors will attend the Council of State meeting. Most of the APC governors had not been attending the meeting since the disagreement that led to the factionalisation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. The last time the council meeting was held, only Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State attended. Two APC governors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the party was mobilising ahead of the meeting. One of them said, “We know the importance of the meeting and we have asked our members to attend at all costs. “Apart from that, our presidential candidate will also be the attending. We don’t want any unpopular decision to be taken on our behalf.” The other said, “We are not only going to attend the meeting, but also have our caucus meeting before going there. We are meeting tonight (Wednesday) to deliberate on issues and take a common position. “You know that we (APC governors) have not been attending the meeting for long, but this time round, we would be there.” The governor added that Obasanjo, who also has an event to attend in Abuja on Thursday (today), had promised that he would be at the meeting. “The former President has promised to attend. We are expecting him to be on the side of the democrats and support that the elections must hold as announced by the INEC.” Earlier on Wednesday, the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, warned that the consequences of overheating the polity on account of the grand design to postpone the polls would be difficult to predict. Odigie-Oyegun said that Nigerians had become aware of the build-up to the “dangerous events that are beginning to unfold in the nation.” He noted that the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), was the first to fly the kite by citing unpreparedness on the part of INEC. The APC chairman stressed that Dasuki was not speaking for the electoral management body because INEC had told all Nigerians that it was ready for the elections. He alleged that as part of the larger plot by the PDP and the Presidency, groups had been sponsored to hold demonstrations to join the calls for postponement. Odigie-Oyegun said, “We were afflicted with organised protests and a few days ago, we were told that some parties got together – I think about 16 of them and decided that yes, they want the elections postponed. “But of course, every serious Nigerian knows that this election is between the APC and the PDP whatever else anybody will think. There has been a spate of organised radio programmes following the same trend. Oh this election should be postponed; election that we knew four years ago is going to happen this year. “Unfortunately in the process, the polity is being overheated to such dangerous levels that the consequences of which will be difficult to predict at this stage.” The party chairman also said the APC was aware that the Presidency might attempt to drag members of the Council of State into its effort to postpone the elections during Thursday’s (today) meeting . Stating that the APC holds members of the council in high esteem,” he advised them against taking part in any project that could damage the democratic process. “It will be necessary at this point to make the point very, clearly that the Council of State is a purely advisory body and ought not to be dragged into trying to provide justification in any form or shape for this very unfortunate direction which the Presidency and the PDP want to plunge this nation,” Odigie- Oyegun said. A top Presidency official told one of our correspondents that whether the APC governors attended the meeting or not, the decision on whether or not the elections would be shifted would be based on the submission of the INEC chairman. He said, “You may say it (the meeting) will be stormy. But I will prefer to say there will be intrigues. “There is no problem in Amaechi and other APC governors attending. One thing that is sure is that decision will be made based on the presentation that will be made by the INEC chairman. “If he says the commission needs more time, decision will be based on that. Nobody can force them to go ahead.” Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State is expected to lead the PDP governors to the meeting. Also in Abuja, the PDP Campaign Organisation has said that only INEC has the power to shift elections. It said it was wrong for anyone to insinuate that the Presidency and the PDP were interfering in the work of the commission. The Director of Media and Publicity of the organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, stated this at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday. He said, “We wish to state that our party, the PDP, and our government under President Jonathan, do not superintend over electoral processes and elections in this country. “There is an independent election body in place – the INEC under the chair of Prof. Attahiru Jega. “It is within the purview of INEC to make decisions about the holding and/or postponement of elections. It is not within the functions of the PDP or the Federal Government.” The former Minister of Aviation said that the PDP and the campaign organisation took exception to the fact that the APC had kept on making this allegation. He said, “When they say that the PDP is controlling INEC they have become nothing but victims of their own delusions and they are obviously suffering from terrible hallucination. “INEC is completely independent. We have called on INEC to ensure that everybody has the Permanent Voter Cards. “We have done that public service; but as to whether election is to be postponed or not is INEC’s sole decision. “Whichever way, we are very well prepared for elections. Let it be clear that the APC leaders and members are the ones who are afraid of elections.” Fani-Kayode said it was also not true that the PDP was not ready for the elections and that it was plotting for an Interim National Government. He said that the APC knew it would not win elections and that this could be the reason why it was making the allegations. He said that Buhari had “attended 35 or thereabouts state rallies and in all, he has spoken for only 57 minutes. He added, “The longest time he spoke in any single rally was for two minutes and 13 seconds. The shortest is one minute. “He has used his so-called speeches for nothing but political demagoguery, charging his supporters with a clenched fist and spreading hate speech (with his supporters chanting ‘sai Buhari’) which is symptomatic of a violent character. “It drives home the point that General Buhari has nothing to say and if he has anything to say, he simply does not know how to say it. That explains why he keeps running from debates even when choice platforms are offered.” He also denied the allegation that some of those who instituted cases in court were doing so on behalf of the PDP and Jonathan. Some protesters however blocked the entrance to the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, demanding that the elections be shifted by two months. They alleged marginalisation of the Southern part of the country in the distribution of PVCs in favour of the North. The protesters, who came under the aegis of the Coalition of Civil Societies and Concerned Nigerians, claimed that the northern states had received 73 per cent of the PVCs, while the southern states had received only 46 per cent. Their coordinator, Amanda Chisom, said their demand was in line with section 132, sub-sections 2 of the Electoral Act. Chisom, who suggested March or April for the elections, later told journalists that they were received by an official of INEC from the Legal Department INEC: Ballot papers ready, 48 million PVCs distributed Via Top 20 News Websites. http://www.punchng.com/news/inec-ballot-papers-ready-48-million-pvcs-distributed/ |
Lordwhen will a dis bombing stop...pls pass through this land and heal it |
Vikkie14:don't be ignorant,wearing jwelries is not a sin....modesty is all DAT matters...read Ezekiel 16:8-15 |
Vikkie14:don't be ignorant....read Ezekiel 16:8-15 |
Redoil:you are yearning dust.......a drowning man clinging onto anything for safety......I tot sambo said he will deliver 2million vote for Gej.......even d pple of southern kid are voting in mass for GMB.....dey there dey rant patua.. |
sai baba........ sai Buhari |
operatives on Saturday chased out pro-Buhari supporters at the Kaduna rally for the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan. |
800k cash.....pls upload more pics...especially engine and interior...thanks |
u are high on cyanide gas |
information reaching me now has it DAT 5000 PDP members has decamped to APC in nasarawa state...I initially don't want to take d news seriously until channels confirms it details later |
crap.......after dem don't cancel AIT poll?. .every other poll Na wayo |
Gud news.....but pls show ur source pls |
Wole shoyinka u av just one vote so shut up and let pple of Nigeria make their choice |
1.350m....send vin and engine pics to 08036253428.... |
850k...pls post more pics ,mileage and vin |
pls someone posted a graphical representation of oil rude sales and eternal reserve fro 1999 till 2014 on one of d political link but I couldn't find d educative picture again...pls if u av d link or if u are d poster kindly repost pls |
Daniel058:Na dem pple dey stone Mr President ooo.small time now a PDP chieftain will come out to say Na PDP arrangee to discredit APC...... |
DrPrickson:what happens trillions of naira for ministry of defence from 6yrs ago?....just asking ni ooo |
av sent u a text...pls add me |
season of adoption and endorsement......GMB will surely have more Dan 25% votes in akwa ibom,delta,crivers and delta and will win Edo and rivers |
Bevista:my brother it all lie....dey knew GMB woon Dats y dey came wt a face-saaving excuses.....every online polls are hack-proof...let dem correct it and bring d poll back |
GMB rocks....... willing crowd,not cowed and paid ones |
OLADD:did I hear u say what has PDP got to do wt dwindling oil price? well I want to ask u what is d significance of foreign reserve?..its to stabilize d local currency and d economy in time of economic crises like we are facing now.......for d record obj left over 40billion dollars wen he's leaving,late yaradua of blessed memory further increased d savings to over 60billion dollars BT ur principal has depleted and squandered d reserve to d tune of about 30billon dollars yet Nigerians are getting poorer.... d same buhari u said is a novince in " basic economic management" met a sinking economy due to massive corruption in d shagari regime with inflation rate of about 23% and by d time he left our inflation rate was single digit yet ur PhD holder is has nosedived Nigeria economy into an almost irredeemable state with naira exchanging for 210 to 1$........ur principal may not be responsible for dwindling price in d world market BT d reserves we were suppose to use as a cushion has been syphoned by him and his cohort ..... d reasoning of pple like u beat my imagination..... we should learn to speak with fact Dats devoid of sentiments and unnecessary biases |
PDP ntorrrrrrrrrrrr |
Vicotex:even ur principal knows DAT d certificate propaganda is busted...so grow up |
upon d attack u still floored their candidate on AIT poll before dey shut down d site..... GMB u are d man for d job no doubt |
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the February 14 presidential election, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday said he was not surprised at attacks on his person by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party leaders. He also said that Nigeria could not afford another four years under a PDP-led government. He explained that a party which had failed to deliver on promises it had been making to Nigerians for almost 16 years, would have nothing new to offer if given another four years. Buhari said this while receiving in audience a delegation of members of the Peoples Democratic Movement who were in his office to adopt him as their candidate for the 2015 presidential election. According to him, whether or not the Nigerian elite is willing to admit it, the 2015 elections represent a watershed in the nation’s political history. He said, “What you have said summarises the problems of this country. You have looked carefully and found out that this year, 2015, whichever way politicians and the elite look at it, is another time or watershed in our political system. “If we get it wrong this time, and allow the PDP to go again for the next four years, this country is going to be in trouble. Right now, with the unfortunate event of crumbling oil price, the economy is really in a mess. Coupled with insecurity, it is only a country like Nigeria that can survive and get out of this situation we are in. A lot of countries will just disappear either from the map or from the political equation of nation states. But Nigerians are so resilient to the extent that there are international personalities who could not understand why Nigeria still exists. “There was a former UN Secretary General who said that if he retires, he will go to Nigeria because, according to him, what is happening to Nigeria, no other country can go through it and survive.” Buhari added, “The 16 years of the PDP has been hell. Remember that we use to have Nigeria Airways, Nigeria Railways, Nigeria Shipping Line. Try and find out how much we have spent on power in the last 16 years from the vast resources we accumulate over that period because the price of oil went up to 142 dollars per barrel. “What did we do with that money? We said that we paid debts with billions of Naira. If that amount was put into infrastructure such as power, roads, railways, farming etc, the amount of job it will create would be enormous. Today, some of our youths have become danger to the society because of lack of jobs. I hope the elite will properly document these 16 years as presenting the worst leadership this country has ever witnessed.” Buhari noted that for Nigeria to develop, there must be a conscious effort to plan for the youths who, he said, constituted 65 per cent of the nation’s population. He also said that the decision of his opponents to resort to personal attacks did not come to him as a surprise because “this is Nigeria.” The candidate said, “I am not surprised. This is Nigeria, if people are serious about this (certificate) issue; they ought to have listened to the legal adviser of INEC. “This is the fourth time, I’ll run for this office and INEC by law have got those documents. They (INEC) said they have got them. Anybody who has any different idea should go to court. They are now in court, let them remain there.” Buhari also commended the PDM for coming out to join him in his quest to rescue Nigeria. He told the delegation that he was delighted that the political family which former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was leading had formally declared support for him. He revealed that he had tried to get them on board through Atiku who he described as “your senior colleague, the Turakin Adamawa.” Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Bashir Ibrahim, who is also the national chairman of the party, said the delegation took the decision to support Buhari at a National Executive Committee meeting. He said, “The NEC of our party, at its meeting of January 22, 2015 noted that the party has no presidential candidate for the election of February 14. It considered and accepted the need to support a candidate in order to save Nigeria for imminent collapse and give it a new lease of life.” Meanwhile, the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation has alerted the nation’s security agencies of a plot to use thugs to embarrass Buhari. According to the APC campaign, the plot is aimed at disrupting the campaign rally of its candidate scheduled to hold in Taraba State on Wednesday (today). This was contained in a statement issued by the Directorate of Media and Publicity of the Campaign organisation. It was signed by its Director, Mallam Garba Shehu. He said the APC Campaign got wind of a plan to use thugs to throw stones and sachets of water at the Buhari team when it visits the state. Attacks on my person not surprising —Buhari Via Top 20 News Websites. http://www.punchng.com/news/attacks-on-my-person-not-surprising-buhari/ |
stag:how many of d illiterate has access to watch AIT? |
mama may your days be long....u are laying down a great future for us and your grand children......mayburdays be long...we love u ma |
APC is working hard to win election even in d so called PDP strongholds....am watching in 3d |
it better be oooooo |
BERNIMOORE:u are yearning dust..Cambridge don't deny d fact DAT he sat for d examination wt dem in 1961 ditto waec.....dey said only buhari and court of law can compel dem to disclose d authenticity of buhari claim..so y not go to court |
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