₦airaland Forum

The European Union election observers has said the 2019 general elections in the country were rigged.

The observers stated this on Saturday while presenting its report of the February 23 and March 23 general elections, at a press conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

President Muhammadu Buhari who sought re-election during the exercise on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was pronounced winner of this year’s presidential election.

The president defeated Atiku Abubakar, his major challenger and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with about 4 million votes.



While noting that the process that paved way for the president’s re-election was not transparent, the observers stated that intimidation, violence and harassment of voters by security operatives were used in perpetuating the electoral fraud.

“The elections became increasingly marred by violence and intimidation, with the role of the security agencies becoming more contentious as the process progressed,” it said.

“This damaged the integrity of the electoral process and may deter future participation,” the observers added.

The EU observers also made some recommendations on how to improve future electoral processes in Nigeria.

Ayoefa:
This retarded brainwashed ipob Biafuro monkey should be locked up ASAP. Lock up the monkey and NOTHING will happen besides Biafuro monkey noise.

Nigerians have been warned to be cautious of another civil war looming as long as equity and fairness is denied some sections of the country.

President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Nnia Nwodo, who gave the warning in a statement on Saturday said with the current structural imbalance in the political spectrum of the country, the nation is heading towards collapsing violently.

The Ohanaeze chieftain said as long as the North sees no wrong in scheming other zones out politically, it will not augur well for the country.

The adminstration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of lopsidedness, which according to some quarters, has furthermore divided Nigerians along ethnic lines.

“There is no future for Nigeria. As long as the north decides to be unreasonable and unrealistic, this country can never get better,” Mr Nwodo said.

“The country is only heading for implosion as long as equity and fairness is denied some sections of the country. The only solution is restructuring or the country will eventually hit the rocks – if not today, tomorrow. What does it cost to be fair and live in peace?

“Certainly, nobody will blame anybody if emotion runs high and the thread holding the country becomes thin and snaps.

“No condition is permanent in life. There are ominous signs and the clouds are gathering. Let the remaining generation that witnessed the Nigerian civil war recant and save the country from the cataclysm that will envelop her if the upcoming generation are allowed to inherit the callousness and wickedness pervading the land now. Nigerians beware of civil war,” the leader of the socio-cultural group warned.

The South-East region in 1967 proclaimed its domain a sovereign state, dissociating from Nigeria. Their actions led to the first civil war which dragged on until 1970 when the secessionists gave up and were reunited back into the country.

Another secessionist group, Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) championing the restoration of the Biafra State, has been proscribed despite the group being a non-violent one.

Meanwhile, a former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has told the people of the region to blame themselves for the political woes that has befallen them.

ivandragon:
Well...

I think there is need to clarify issues here...


INEC's position is that it did not 'collate & transmit results' electronically & not that it does not have servers (I humbly stand to be corrected).

Servers in the context of this matter also covers emails, website maintenance & other internet based applications that do not necessarily have to deal with collation & transmission of election results...


So what Atiku needs to prove is that collated results were sent (transmitted) over the internet to a central system in Abuja...

WHETHER or not the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, made use of a central server in storing poll results for the 2019 general election has recently been a subject of heated controversy.

In a petition sent to the presidential election tribunal in March, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) claimed its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, defeated Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the ruling party, by 1.6 million votes. This information, the party said, was retrieved from the electoral commission’s server, which has the authentic results.

INEC, however, replied that the numbers peddled by the PDP were fabricated and said it did not adopt electronic transmission of collation of results.

Atiku, in April, gave the tribunal what he called the “unique MAC address and Microsoft product ID of the INEC server”.

“The figures and votes were transmitted to the first Respondent’s Presidential Result’s Server 1 and thereafter aggregated in INEC_PRES_RSLT_SRV2019, whose Physical Address or unique Mac Address is 94-57-A5-DC-64-B9 with Microsoft Product ID 00252-7000000000-AA535,” he said.

“The 1st Respondent specifically denies the existence of electronic transmission of results as it is unknown to the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of the elections, 2019,” it said in its response.

Following an application to the tribunal by the PDP for an order compelling INEC to grant access to the server, the agency maintained that it does not have any server.

“They are asking us to bring something we do not have,” Yunus Usman, its lawyer, said, though this position contradicts statements made before the election by INEC’s commissioners.

Claims have been circulated suggesting that INEC spent “millions of naira” on a server. In this fact-check, The ICIR takes a look at documents drafted by the commission itself, which confirm that it intended to procure various servers for the 2019 election and that, in fact, it got funded for those procurements.

A little background

President Buhari had, in July and September, written to the National Assembly requesting for N242 billion as virement and supplementary budget to fund the 2019 general election. Out of this amount, N189 billion was allocated to INEC while the rest went to the Nigeria Police, Civil Defence, and other security agencies.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations on the Virement Request headed by Muhammed Danjuma Goje, in its interim report, recommended that N144.7 billion be transferred from the Special Intervention Programme recurrent budget and N44.2 billion from the programme’s capital budget.

Adding this to the N45 billion recurrent expenses already approved for INEC in the 2018 budget, it meant INEC’s total budget for 2018 was N234.5 billion.

In October, the National Assembly approved the N242 billion supplementary budget as sent by the president—only changing the source of the funding from the legislators’ special projects votes to the Special Intervention Programme.

Does the supplementary budget provide for servers?

Yes, it does. INEC’s supplementary budget was made public by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), a nonprofit committed to facilitating legislative advocacy and access to public policies.

According to the document (archived here), INEC proposed to spend N143.5 billion on 209 items. Out of that amount, N2.27 billion was budgeted for server-related procurement items, with budget code 230808. The purpose of a computer server is simply to store, retrieve, and send information to other computers connected to a network.

N1.37 billion was budgeted for nationwide replacement of servers for 25 states and National Data Centre, N99.7 million for an upgrade of the server version of OpenVR for compatibility with new Dell server, and N800 million for the migration of voter registration database from MySQL Open Source to OracleDB (both database administration services).


INEC also budgeted N157.5 million for the renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure, with budget code 230709.

Though the National Assembly sub-committees on INEC and electoral matters, headed by Suleiman Nazif and Aishatu Dukku, recommended the reduction of the some of the proposed amounts, the proposed budget was eventually passed in full.

Not only was the approval absolute, but the office of the Accountant-General reports in its “Capital Performance of the Budget” document that all of the amount (N188.9 billion) was released to INEC and spent by it.

The plan for servers predates 2018 budgeting process

It is worth mentioning that the word server is likewise used four times in INEC’s “2017-2021 Strategic Programme of Action” (archived here).

According to the plan, the agency’s ICT department was expected to award contracts by the first quarter of each year for the upgrade of existing mail server and expansion of INEC mail system to states and local government offices.

The department was to get approval by the second quarter of 2017 and 2018 for the procurement of servers for all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It was also to upgrade the server version of Open VR for compatibility with the new Dell Server.

The renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure as well as the development of data management tools “for archiving election results and other electoral activities” were also provided for in the programme of action.

Conclusion

It is true that money (over N2 billion naira) for the procurement and upgrade of servers was approved for INEC by the National Assembly and it has had a longterm plan favouring the electronic storage of electoral results.

The amount was also released to the INEC and the commission reported it, as utilised. If the agency insists it does not have a server, then it has some explaining to do on how exactly it spent the relevant funds.

lalasticlala

Peter Obi, the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not suffering from heart attack, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has said.

Mr Obi, a former Anambra State governor, was reported to be suffering the afro-mentioned illness and was admitted in a private hospital within the state.

The report said plans were been made to fly the former governor out if his health condition refuses to improve.

Although, Valentine Obienyem, media aide to Obi had already debunked the rumor, the Bayelsa East lawmaker said what the PDP vice presidential candidate suffered from was Malaria and not the reported heart attack.

The Senator said he got wind of the information after placing a telephone call to the former governor.

“I spoke to @PeterObi,” Mr Murray-Bruce said in a tweet on Wednesday.

“Yes, he had malaria, but he is now fine. Nothing like a heart attack. He is full of enough life to give those who wish him dead a panic attack.

“Peter, we celebrate you and your contribution to Nigeria. May you remain with us for a very, long time,” the Senator added.

Bukola Saraki, President of the 8th Senate has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to stop witch-hunting him.

Mr Saraki stated this while reacting to a recent probe embarked upon by the anti-graft agency wherein his financial earnings during his days as Kwara State governor is being investigated.

After a national newspaper reported that the former governor was being investigated, the EFCC confirmed the report but noted that the probe had no political undertone.

For the top lawmaker, he believes singling him out of other former state governors for repeated probe tantamount to witch-hunt.

He said aside being probed again as a former governor, the commission has also began investigating his activities as Senate President.

The lawmaker also said the EFCC was being economical with the truth when it claimed that its latest probe against him predates his ambassadorial appointment at the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC).

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has disagreed with the presidency on the recent claim of the latter that Miyetti Allah, a cattle-breeding group, is likened to other socio-cultural groups in the country.

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, had on Tuesday said Miyetti Allah is like Afenifere, Ohanaeze and should not be criminalised due to certain bad eggs among the group.

He defended the recent meeting between the Federal Government and the cattle-breeding group, saying the gathering was to proffer solutions to the recent spike in crimes in some parts of the North.

The presidential spokesman also denied the group was offered monetary compensation during the meeting to help curtail violence allegedly being carried out by its members.





But disagreeing with Mr Shehu, the former minister said Miyetti Allah is not like other groups known to be peaceful while making their demands.

“No they are not,” Fani-Kayode said in series of tweets on Tuesday while accusing the group of shielding armed herdsmen.

“They are an association of butchers of cows and men. They are the purveyors of violence, the custodians of falsehood and the repositories of evil. They are as perfidious as they are dangerous!

“They are an umbrella organisation of dark, callous, bloodthirsty and merciless men that seek to legitimise, shield and protect the Fulani herdsmen, the fourth most deadly terrorist organisation in the world.

“Comparing them to Afenifere or Ohaneze is like comparing the Church of Satan and the Cosa Nostra to the Vatican and the Anglican Communion,” the minister said.

The Nigerian Presidency has denied offering Miyetti Allah and armed bandits monetary compensation to help maintain peace in Northern Nigeria.

There were reports that the Federal Government had offered the cattle breeding group alongside others a N100 billion to curtail crimes allegedly being carried out by its members.

The amount was reportedly agreed upon when delegations from the parties involved held a meeting with the delegation of the Federal Government headed by the acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

The planned monetary compensation drew condemnation from the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA).



But reacting on Tuesday, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, defended the meeting but denied monetary compensation were discussed.

“That is 100 per cent untrue. I have confirmed that in all the meetings held, money was never discussed,” Mr Shehu said while featuring on Channels Television.

Likening Miyetti Allah to other socio-cultural groups including, Ohanaeze, Afenifere, the presidential spokesman said the government needed the cooperation of the group in tackling proliferation of weapons in the country.

“The Nigerian government is speaking with the leadership of the Fulani herders association, Miyetti Allah.



“The Miyetti Allah group is like Ohanaeze and Afenifere. It is a socio-cultural group. There are criminals within the Yoruba race and you cannot say because of that, Afenifere is a group of criminals.

“The Nigerian government is speaking with the leadership of the Fulani herders association, Miyetti Allah.

“All of the issues were about the involvement of the leadership of Miyetti Allah and getting them to prevail upon its members and they are many. We asked them to assist the administration to recover weapons which were owned by a lot of these elements,” Shehu said.

He said while state governors will be engaged, some of the herders admitted that they went into crime because they had been dispossessed of their cattle by rustlers.

“These things are being addressed and they are moving to the next stage.

“In states like Kogi, Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Niger, they will be talking to the governors so that you can use them. They are available so that you can help the government to caution and control some of these things unfolding.”

Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives has said contrary to believe in some quarters that corruption is the major problem facing the country, the lack of leadership is to be blamed for the country’s woes.

Mr Dogara stated this on Tuesday while addressing participants at a conference organised by the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Movement.

President Muhammadu Buhari has often emphasized on the need to rid the country of corrupt elements, saying they are the major problems of the country.

Mr Buhari’s war against corruption is said to be selective mainly targeted at opposition politicians.





A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, recently accused the president of promoting corruption in the country by refusing to probe his allies alleged to be corrupt.

“Nigeria’s real disease is lack of leadership; I disagree with all those who say our major national disease is financial corruption; rather, the real disease has been the absence of true leadership,” Dogara said.

The speaker also said lack of direction by leaders in the country encouraged fraudulent conduct.

“This in turn breeds moral corruption and wickedness. Get a true leader that solves moral corruption and wickedness; when that happens, you will search for financial corruption to no avail.



“Unfortunately, the leadership model we have practised so far is the kind of leadership that produces sycophants who are expected to serve their political godfathers and not the people,” he said.

The lawmaker also blamed godfatherism for some of the conduct of those elected into positions in the country.

“Our so-called leaders have mastered the art of political witchcraft so much so that if you are independent minded, you are automatically disqualified.

“If for any reason you are picked, then you have to surrender your soul for them to eat in small bites until you become their worshiper.

“In the midst of this pandemic sycophancy, the so-called godfathers expect the children to fit in and not to stand up to be counted or make a difference.

“For you, trailblazers who carry the burden and the promises of a generation that must not fail, if you are ever going to get there, it must be on the wings of discipline that produces character.

“This is because without character, you cannot be men and women of influence and without influence, you cannot change anything. Character means that you cannot be separated from your word — a quality no godfather in history has ever possessed,” he said.

To overcome the challenges, Dogara charged the youths to apply an all-inclusive politics because politics means reaching out to all and not to lose sight of the long-term goal of representing their people, state and country.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied that its recent probe into the activities of Bukola Saraki, outgoing Senate President, while he was governor has political undertone.

A national daily had reported that the EFCC has launched a probe into the financial earnings of the top lawmaker while he held sway as governor of Kwara State.

The report said the probe came days after the Senator was appointed Ambassador of International Human Rights Commission (IHRC), suggestion the probe has political undertone.

Denying the nexus between the probe and appointment, the anti-graft agency said the the investigation of the former governor had already commenced before his recent ambassadorial appointment.





“For the avoidance of doubt, investigation into the Senate President’s activities while he held sway as the governor of Kwara State started long before his nomination and emergence as IHRC ambassador,” the EFCC said in a statement published on its Facebook page.

“In fact, the Commission’s letter to the Kwara State Government House which sought an inquest into Saraki’s earnings as the state governor, from from 2003 to 2011 was dated Friday, April 26, 2019, predating his announcement as IHRC ambassador at large which came on Sunday, April 28, 2019 with two clear days.

“We, therefore, urge members of the public to disregard the false connect the writer sought to establish between Saraki’s IHRC ambassadorial appointment and our inquiries into his earnings as a state governor.

“We wish to restate our resolve to resist distractions from any quarter in our efforts to rid the country of corruption and corrupt elements,” the commission added.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said there is no alternative plan at the moment to combat insecurity going on across the country.

Mr Buhari also said losing weight is evidence that one is working hard.

The Nigerian leader stated this on Sunday shortly after returning from the United Kingdom where he went on a private visit.

A reporter of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) accosted him while he was at the airport, wanting to know if there would be another strategic plan to combat insecurity in the country given the recent spike in crimes especially in the Northern part of the country.

“Are we likely to see a different approach in the fight against insecurity, especially kidnappings which is a big issue now Sir?” the journalist queried.

Dissenting, the president said he had just seen the acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the physical appearance of the Police Boss indicates that the latter is working hard.

“No, I have just seen the IG, he’s lossing weight so I think he is working very hard,” Buhari answered.

Insecurity in that part of the country has been on spike even before the 2019 general election.

Mr Buhari who sought a second term in office was re-elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

President Muhammadu Buhari has on Sunday returned to Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Mr Buhari had embarked on a private visit to the United Kingdom promising to return today.

His return was announced by a presidential aide Bashir Ahmed, through his Twitter handle.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has this evening, returned to Abuja after a private visit to London, the United Kingdom,” Mr Ahmed tweeted.

Femi Falana, Human Rights Activist, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of promoting corruption in the country.

Mr Falana who stated this at a public function organised to mark the 2019 World Press Freedom Day at the weekend also accused Mr Buhari of turning the country into a banana republic.

Tackling corruption is one of the major promises the president vowed to fight, but the war on anti-graft has been said to be selective, mainly targeted at opposition politicians and those who do not agree to the tenets of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

The activist also cited prevailing cases of banditry, insurgency and violence that has beclouded the country.



The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) accused Mr Buhari of substituting the rule of law for “the rule of the rulers,” thereby asking the Nigerian masses “to take their destiny in their own hands.”

“It thus seems that politicians and associates of those close to the seat of power in Abuja are protected, despite strong evidence of corruption and money laundering against them. Such abuse of the rule of law is subversive of law and order in a democratic society,” the activist was quoted by Thisday Newspaper to have said.

“Given these types of examples on the part of the leadership and the poor working conditions of most government workers, it is not surprising that civil servants across the ranks have turned to petty corruption, often simply to survive.

“The net impact of this systemic corruption is a serious erosion of the rule of law, by a government that is supposedly committed to good governance, transparency, accountability and anti-corruption,” he added.



He said the regime of the president under the military was far more better than what is obtainable now that he has been democratically elected.

“Buhari has refused to release or grant bail to several detained persons in complete defiance of court orders,” Falana said.

“Since the federal government claims to operate under the rule of law, it should be compelled to comply with section 287 of the Constitution which has imposed a duty on all authorities and persons to enforce the decisions of all courts of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria.

“It is so worrisome that provisions of the 1999 Constitution are conveniently sacrificed for political expediency or self aggrandisement of highly placed public officers. In the process, Nigeria is reduced to a banana republic where the rule of law is substituted for the rule of the rulers,” he added.

Among those detained despite court orders demanding their release are: Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser (NSA); Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, an Islamic cleric whose members clashed with the Nigerian Army; among others.

Buhari had earlier said their release could endanger the country, saying national security should take precedence over the rule of law.

Inibehe Effiong, a Human Rights Activist, has said any other Police Force in Nigeria other than the constitutionally recognized Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is illegal.

Mr Effiong stated this while reacting to online reports hinting that Sharia Police, an Islamic Force, will on Monday commence the arrest of adults who will publicly eat as Muslims begin their Ramadan season.

The legal practitioner said Sharia Police is illegal because bit is not known to the Nigerian Constitution.

Ramadan is a special month for Muslims and those who practice the religion are mandated to fast during the period.

Nabahani Usman, the Commander-General of Kano Hisbah, while speaking to BBC said those arrested will only be released at the spot if they can provide an exemption letter from a medical doctor or show proof of chronic ulcer with a warning not to repeat it publicly again.

“We do this kind of operation yearly and we will continue it this year,” Mr Usman said.

“The aim is to get every Muslim to respect the month of Ramadan. Even if a doctor says you should not fast, that does not mean you should eat in public while others are fasting.

“So any Muslim that we apprehend eating outside, our men will arrest and bring the person to our office unless he can show proof that a doctor asked him not to fast,” he added.



Condemning the activities of the force, the legal practitioner said the only recognized Police force is the Nigeria Police. He also said the activities of a religious group should not be enforced on people since the country is a secular state.

“There is freedom of worship under our Constitution. You cannot compel people to observe religious activities,” Mr Effiong said in a tweet on Saturday.


Inibehe Effiong, legal practitioner.
He quoted a section of the constitution to back up his claim saying the establishment of the Sharia Police will be tried in court.

“Sec. 214 of the Constitution prohibits the establishment of any police force in Nig apart from the Nig. Police Force. This unconstitutionality will be challenged one day,” the legal practitioner said.

A perusal of the constitution by POLITICS TIMES showed the lawyer is right in his claims.

While Section 214 recognizes the establishment of only the Nigeria Police Force, Section 38 subsection 1 says practice of religion should be without molestation.

“Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance,” the latter section reads.

A bill which paved way for the creation of Islamic Force in Kano State was signed by Rabiu Kwankwaso, when he held sway as governor.

Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Aviation Minister has dismissed as untrue social media reports that he has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr Fani-Kayode said those peddling the reports that he has left the opposition party are insane.

The former minister who recently criticized the PDP on the manner with which the party operates as opposition party, was rumored to have gone back to the All Progressive Congress (APC).

His commendation to President Muhammadu Buhari for intervening in setting Zainab Aliyu free from execution by Saudi Arabia authorities further fueled the speculation. This is because the PDP chieftain hardly finds anything good in the administration of the president.

Miss Aliyu held by the Arabian authorities over banned substances found in her possession. It was later discovered that she might have been a victim of drugs cartel in Nigeria who were setting people up by planting banned substances in their luggage.

POLITICS TIMES reports that Senator Shehu Sani, lawmaker representing Kaduna Central at the Senate has suggested ways on how to avoid such scenarios.

Reacting, the former minister who decribed the social media reports that he has left the PDP as false said those peddling the rumors are insane.

“Reports that I said I am “proud of Buhari” and that I have “dumped PDP” and “joined APC” are false,” Fani-Kayode tweeted Friday morning.

“Those that are peddling such vile mendacities and perfidious falsehood are insane.

“I commended Buhari for getting the young lady in Saudi Arabia out of prison but it stops there,” he added.

Shehu Sani, lawmaker representing Kaduna Central at the Senate has advised travellers on what to do in order to prevent undue harassment and detention over what they know nothing about.

Mr Sani gave the advise days after Zainab Aliyu, a student at Maitama Sule University, Kano, was released by authorities in Saudi Arabia.

Banned substances in that country were found in the luggage of Ms Aliyu when she travelled for Lesser Hajj late last year.

The student who denied knowledge of the substance found in her possession was detained by the Arabian authorities. Those adjudged to be guilty are executed.

It was later discovered that the luggage of the student might have been trespassed by airport cartel who are fond of planting drugs in innocent travellers’ luggage thereby implicating them.

A recent one was busted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

It took the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari before she was released to Nigerian authorities.

Advising travellers on how to avoid such scenario, the Kaduna lawmaker urged travellers to always make use of their mobile devices by video tapping their belongings at the Airport Counter while checking in or out of the country.

“Travel advisory;When traveling in or out of the country,use your phone to video tape the actual luggages you are checking in at the Airport Counter,to protect yourself from those in the Business of set up.A stitch in time saves nine,” Mr Sani said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

So many Nigerians are held in Saudi Arabia for various drug related offenses. Some might likely be innocent of what they are accused of.