₦airaland Forum

MANDIPUTIN:
*Majority of Nigerians will reject any fixed election – Onovo … ‘I will clap for INEC if I don’t see underage voting in Kano next year’
*Southern politicians need to learn from northern counterparts on mobilisation

In recent weeks, there has been increased discontent among political stakeholders, particularly in Southern Nigeria on the large number of invalid registered voters released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from the region, ahead of the 2023 general election.

The Commission had said the invalid registrants were detected after it applied the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) data cleaning exercise.

INEC has come under heavy criticism from stakeholders and political leaders in the South since the final figure of voters were announced for the 2023 general election.

They accused the commission of showing favouritism in the registration of voters ahead of next year’s polls and working to disadvantage the region’s voting strength, particularly the South-South and South-East.

The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), which was commenced in June 2021, ended in July 2022, despite agitations from some Nigerians and civil society groups for extension.

In several parts of the country, thousands of Nigerians could not register due to alleged sharp practices by some officials of the INEC, who often colluded with corrupt politicians to frustrate attempt of eligible voters from registering to enable them get their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), in areas, where they or their parties are not popular.

Equally, avoidable lapses such as inadequate capturing machines, late resumption of INEC officials and sheer dereliction of duties hampered the smooth conduct of the exercise in several parts of the country.

In its final assessment of the exercise, INEC said Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Rivers top the list of states with the highest number of invalid registered voters.

The INEC data shows that 59. 8 per cent of the total new registrants were delisted in the South-East state.

Although Nigeria’s voter population increased by 9,518,188, a total of 2,780,756 were consequently delisted from 12,298,944 new voters who completed the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise.

Interestingly, the South-South state of Bayelsa, which is one of the states with the smaller population in the country, leads with the number of invalid registered voters.

The Commission said out of the 444,652 new registrants that completed their CVR exercise in Bayelsa State in the, 307,513 of the number were declared invalid.

This means 69.2 percent of the people that participated in the exercise committed one of the infractions frowned upon by the electoral body.

Ebonyi State took the second spot as only 161,447 registrants satisfactorily scaled INEC’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) data cleaning exercise out of the 401,510 registrants who completed the registration.

Also Rivers had 33 percent of its total CVR registered voters after the INEC data cleaning phase.

The valid new voters in Abia were 196,683 while 72,657 have been declared invalid. At least 61,261 of the 243,565 total registered voters in Enugu were also invalid according to INEC data.

In the South West, the total registration is 2,039,982, invalid 399,608, (10 per cent), valid 1,640,374 with a register of 17.5 million.

This is a sharp contrast to the figure in the North, where states like Zamfara, Kwara, Abuja, Plateau and Kaduna recorded the lowest percentage of invalid registration.

For example, of the 238,649 registrants in Zamfara, only 11.2 percent were invalid.

For North Central, the total registration stood at 2,314,368, invalid 345,324, (14.9 per cent), valid, 1,969,044, and register 15.0 million.

Total registration in the North East is 1,531,070, invalid, 272,508, (17.8 percent), valid 1,258,562, registered 12.5 million.

The total number of registration stood at 12,298,944, invalid 2,780,756, (22.6 per cent), valid 9,518,188, while the total register is 93.5 million.

In the last few days, there have been divergent views from observers and political leaders in the South on the implications of the development.

Many people in the region are wondering how the zones with high literacy rates will record more invalid registration than the Northern parts of the country with lower literacy rates.

President, of Middle Belt Forum, Pogu Bitrus said he would not know how INEC arrived at the figures, saying other reasons apart from double registration could have informed what happened.

He, however, urged those whose registrations had been cancelled in the South East and South-south to come out if they know that they were duly registered, and testify that they have been short-changed and that INEC is being partial.

“Certainly, in this country today, we have so many foreigners; the majority of hawkers in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria are from Niger Republic and Chad and this may have increased the Northwest number of registrants,” he said.

Similarly, some are of the view that the average voter in Northern Nigeria has much voter education and awareness and are often curious to take part in the electoral process compared to people in the South.

“The average voter in the North is aware that power is the driver of any country and they take it very much more seriously than those in the South, therefore they cannot be blamed for having higher numbers of valid registration.

“Until the politicians in the South begin to mobilise the people and educate them properly on the importance of registration, and how to register, then numbers of invalid registration will reduce,” Adelaja Adeoye, former national publicity secretary of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), said.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders are saying that a thorough analysis of the reasons for the invalidation of PVCs must be undertaken; they say those that can be remedied, must be given a chance as the objective must be to get all eligible voters to register.

Ndubuisi Enechionyia, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for Enugu West senatorial zone told BusinessDay Sunday, that the recent elections conducted by INEC in Osun and Ekiti States showed that the Commission was ready for the task ahead unlike in the past.

According to him, “I am absolutely going to give INEC the benefit of the doubt for this election.

“A lot of what has happened in the off-season elections has shown we have an improvement in the conduct of INEC on elections. We must remain vigilant and supportive to ensure we do not revert to the old ways

“Another important aspect must be voter education and sensitisation to ensure that people come out to vote, and voting is not based on primordial sentiments. This is where there is an important role for INEC, our orientation agencies and political parties.

“Our biggest challenge is a failure of leadership at all levels. It is in all our enlightened self-interest that votes count and elections work. Nigeria needs to work, and it must start by freely electing our leaders and holding them accountable”.

Speaking to BusinessDay Sunday, Martins Onovo, a former presidential candidate, said the current leadership of INEC would not conduct free and fair polls next year.

He cited the recent removal of the Christian head of the INEC ICT unit, stressing that it was done to pave the way for the manipulation of the outcome of the 2023 polls.

“We have long concluded and announced that it is unreasonable to expect free and fair elections from the current INEC Chairman going by the 2019 elections. Currently, INEC has continued to show bias against Christians.

“It looks obvious that the removal of the Christian head of the INEC ICT unit was calculated to create the opportunity for prior manipulation of the elections”, Onovo said.

Onvo added that the manipulations were aimed to suppress votes in the South.

“They are using the same old method of suppressing votes in the Christian South and unlawfully boosting votes in the Muslim areas of the North were used to fix the elections in 2015 and 2019.

“This time, INEC must take note that the overwhelming majority of Nigerians will reject any fixed election,” he added.

An observer, who spoke to BusinessDay Sunday on condition of anonymity, said he smelt a rat that something untoward may be going on.

“With the assurances by the INEC that the election would be transparent as the results would be electronically uploaded from the polling unit, rigging is bound not to happen in that front; the new battlefront is the rigging before the exercise by reducing the voting strength of the people. What we are seeing now may not be far from that. It may be a grand plan. Are they telling me that those illiterate folks in the north are more enlightened than all of us here in the north? For me, it is ‘the more you look, the less you see’. That’s how I see it.”

The observer further said: “I heard that part of those INEC said it deregistered were underage registrants. I will only clap for INEC if I do not see children queue up to vote in Kano and other places in the North where they use underage children to rig elections. Is INEC saying that it has sanitised the system that such things would no longer feature? That would be the miracle of the century. We are watching.”

While there are protests and condemnation that INEC allegedly remove 30 percent (or so) number of voters from South West and South East from the present 93.5 million registers of voters, the Commission adduced reasons for the expulsion across the country.

INEC had said it invalidated 2.7 million ineligible registrants from the record of the 12.2 million newly registered voters.

https://businessday.ng/politics/article/high-inec-deregistered-voters-in-s-s-s-e-raises-concerns/

jumper524:
I've always maintained that pdp has now been completely divided into three section.
LP, NNPP and PDP itself.

These three section wants us to beleive that we that voted APC in 2019 are not going to vote in APC using religious and ethnic factor as a tool.
They are spreading falsehood that northerners won't vote APC cos Atiku a fulani is running. They beleive northerners won't vote tinubu cos he's a fake yoruba Muslim and he's also using a Muslim Muslim ticket.
If you know any pro APC nairalander in 2019 that has changed tone. Please indicate with proof so we can beleive apc has lost members cos of religion and tribalism as opposition want us to beleive. Please comment with proof. As at 2019 I'm sure nairaland had close to 2million folowere and. Im sure as hell that 80% of them are still active.

DaddyFreeze2020:
Register on the website and display the voters info for any state in Nigeria.

Thinkam:
So what were you expecting, a magical time machine taking videos of tinubu cutting coke and selling on the streets of Chicago?

David hundeyin, should have built a time machine and videotaped the times Tinubu smuggled coke and pooped it.

Even documentaries done by Vice and economists on Escobar and even elchapo, that's more recent, followed the same pattern as outlined by David hundeyin.

Each time I remember how Yaruba defended buhari's failure in 2019 even more than we northerners, I get less shocked they are supporting a drug baron and an international criminal, after all abiola was also a drug kingpin...


Atiku is coming

Samizak:
Atiku the game changer, the only man that can lift Nigeria higher

umarrigasa:
Atiku Abubakar in Jigawa Stete.

hassanmuhammadd:
Atiku abubakar will win the election of 2023
We are ready to vote atiku to rescue our nation in a right choice.

5 agenda for ATIKU ABUBAKAR
1 UNITY
2 SECURITY
3 ECONOMY
4 EDUCATION
5 DEVOLUTION OF POWER

ClassicMan202:
How reliable is buying a phone from aliexpress?

The quality
The delivery etc.

please share your experience.

RestructureNig1:
What is Hausa/Fulani, it's like saying Yoruba/Igbo or Igbo/Ibibio.

Dangote is an Hausa man, tell me one rich Fulani

naijapips04:
Both are fronts for IBB. Richest Yorubas got their wealth illegally from Tinubu to Adenuga to Alakija and the rest.

It's only in igbo land that you will mostly find people that rose from grass genuinely because business is our thing. Hausa/Fulani comes a close second.

naijapips04:
There are not so many Arthur Ezes in igboland. Most igbo billionaires are self-made.

Mrkindness:
that's the difference between Igbos and Yorubas. Igbos play politics to win while the so called sophisticated morons play politics to hurt another tribe even when their mothers are been raped through the A*s

RestructureNig1:
Helpless Hausa people are in their millions in Lagos, they are no allies to the West, you are just yoruba slave

KalioPeter:
You are just looking for trouble this morning

MasterTeeUSA:
Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) has announced the outcome of the state’s just concluded Local Government Area Council elections. (APC) won 22 out of the 25 chairmanship seats in the council’s polls conducted on Thursday, November 10, 2022.

Tunganwawa explained that the results of the remaining three LGs are being awaited, adding that 13 political parties took part in the election.

He said: “Due to some problems experienced during the conduct of the local government councils election, NSIEC will conduct rerun elections in two wards of Rafi and Kontagora Local Government Councils.


“The two wards are that of Kusherki and Tungan Kawo, scheduled to hold this Sunday.”


Tunganwawa described the local government council’s election as peaceful and orderly despite some minor hitches.

Three local government councils awaiting results include Katcha, Agwara and Borgu.


https://www./2022/11/11/apc-wins-22-out-of-25-seats-in-niger-state-lg-council-elections/

Aderewah:
Lekki Sea Port and Free Trade Zone
The impact is undeniable. Countries will ship through Lekki, displacing coutonou. The sea port will vastly improve the traffic of people moving around Lekki Epe and around Southwest for business.

Lagos Ibadan Railway
The impact of this project will compound in a few years. The moniya end of the railway is massively developing daily, connecting the vast capital in lagos to a new frontier in Ibadan.

Dangote Refinery
This project being situated in the SW is a big win. Landing cost after refinery will be cheapest in the SW after subsidy removal. The immediate business of the refinery will also reflect first non the region before elsewhere.

Southwest will soon have x5 of the gdp of all other regions combined.

jconsulting:
If Obi wins he will make History as the first presidential candidate with which the party does not have counselor,LG chairman, Governor, Senator,state and Federal house rep and still win election. No be juju be dat

Jones90:
It's not your fault. It's just because i expected the Nigerian police to act professionally. Else i would have been saying this with enough evidence. Who would have thought the police men would let those guys go Scott free... Who??

doggedfighter:
A lot has changed over the years for me.


I detest crime . Never see me look in there unless....


Dairies- Nairaland is blessed with terrific writers. Respect to all of them !


Family

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Jones90:
While returning home from where i went to this morning (around to 2pm thereabouts), i saw a crowd of people standing and facing one direction just at the bus stop (U Turn, Abule Egba). I was so curious about what's happening, then lo and behold it was three police, two other guys looking like area boys helping the police to Arrest those motorcycle riders on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.

They just caught an Hausa/fulani rider and it was what's turning into scene. The two area boys just apprehended the Hausa's guy bike and he wanted to push the bike to the road side cos traffic was already building up.

Then all of a sudden, two Hausa/falani guys (bike riders also) came out and was dragging with the police men right before our very eyes. Out of the two guys that just came, one of then pulled up his clothe and removed Dagger and was threatening to stab the police men. I was like woow, so it is true that these bike riders go around with dagger on their waist i was so shocked to experience what I've been hearing right from childhood.

While the one with dagger was threatening to stab the police men and was even telling the police men God pun!sh you repeatedly right in everyone presence, the second guy was busying dragging his brother's bike with the area boys and successfully collected the bike from them.

He pushed the bike to other lane of the road and went away with it leaving the bike owner and the one with dagger with the police men. The one with dagger will seriously displaying with his dagger. The police men managed to handcuffs the bike owner and somehow took him to their Korope.

I was believing that the bike owner that the police held is enough to provide the rest of them when taken to station but guess what, i was wrong.

Right in our very eyes, police release the guy without any stress from the guy. They removed the handcuffs from his hand and he ran to go meet his brothers despite all the assault and insults from them. The police were acting so scared.

I got mad and i questioned the police men for such public action which can be be described as an embarrassment and disgrace. I asked them how would they leave someone who threatened to stab them with dagger and telling them God pun!sh you?

Guess what, the only thing the police men could do in our presence was to start apportioning brame to one another. God, i felt so so ashame of the Nigerian police. Even with theirs guns, they were acting so unprofessional.

Even a soldier (looking like an Hausa too from his Appearance) drove past with his bike. He even slow down and was watching how the Hausa guy was displaying with his dagger. I was thinking the soldier will intervent in the situation, but guess what he drove away

I've witnessed them arresting so many southerners on that same spot for the same offence and they always take them to their station at Ile Epo even with so much pleading from those southern bike riders. I'm saying this because I'm staying close to the road.

I was then telling the police men that assuming those assault was perform by a southerner, the story would have been another thing. The rider was have seen himself in the jail with too much spending. Now it is Hausa/falani, they let them go Scott free.

Note: I didn't made video of it because i never in my widest imagination believe that those police men would let the guys go after the abuse/Assault on them. Even Causing scene and traffic.

I'm so so ashamed of the Nigerian police. Some of them truly don't fit to wear the uniform. I just wish this can get to their IG. The incident happened at U TURN BUS STOP, Abule Egba, Lagos. Many people saw it.

NaijaRoyalty:
Peter Obi was already a billionaire at 30.. long before delving into politics

This man is on a mission to right all the many wrongs of this useless APC government that has sent many Nigerians to there untimely death

Vote Labour Party
Vote Peter Obi