₦airaland Forum

garfield1:
Hmm,but originally I thought you said atiku will win kogi na? From what I am seeing,kogi central will go heavily for tinubu.he will win kogi west narrowly but because the okun are almost entirely Christians and pdp is string there,obi and atiku will get some votes.okun has 5 lgas,lokoja and koton karfe are in the west but not Yoruba.even ogori in central is not ebira.
Kogi east should be divided between the three.kogi east has 9 lgas,7 igalas and 2 bassa nupe who will go with Tinubu.those sides near iboland will go with obi.idris,wada will deliver dekina,ankpa for pdp.

garfield1:
Obi is non existent in kwara and kogi

PrinceOfLagos:
This is karma hitting hard on the betrayals of the south

Serves them right

Amid growing pressure to announce his preferred presidential candidate in the forthcoming election, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike says he never told the public the method by which he would disclose his choice.

All eyes are on Wike in the light of his assurance that he would make his preferred candidate known last month.

His candidate for president is considered significant, given his ongoing feud with the leadership of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following the emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate in May 2022.

Wike is one of five aggrieved PDP governors known as the G5 or Integrity Group who have remained defiant in their opposition to the North producing both the national chairman and presidential candidate.

They have refused to campaign for Atiku on the grounds that there must be equity, fairness, and justice.

Former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, on Tuesday, challenged Wike to name his presidential candidate as expected.

But the Rivers governor fired back at the All Progressives Congress (APC) member.

“You have the guts to tell me I should name my presidential candidate. Are we at the same level? Failure and success, are they the same?” Wike asked at the Rivers State PDP campaign rally in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

“Look at the man who is always failing every day. He does not understand the activities of G5. I have told most people who don’t know, G5 that we’re fighting is like guerilla warfare. The more you look, the less you see.

“I never told anybody one day, I will bring a camera and announce to you this is who will go. I said I will tell Rivers people the candidate they will support. I did not tell you the method of saying it. I did not tell you I will bring live coverage and say it. But Rivers people know.”

Additionally, Wike derided Peterside over his defeat in the 2015 and 2019 governorship races.

“Look at this small boy whom I flogged in 2015. I don’t know where they say he comes from – is it Abia or Opobo side, which of the areas? Envy! I flogged him out in 2015.

“He has not recovered from that. He thought they would give him a ticket in 2019, but he didn’t get [it]. They sent him to be NIMASA. Ask him, what did he bring for Rivers people?

“You have a position, you cannot help your people, and you’re coming out to open your mouth, simply because you didn’t get [the ticket] and they did not give you a second term to be DG of NIMASA,” he said.

Ezeama400:
I am not even impressed at Kwankwaso's performance.

I don't know what that man is doing

Peter Gregory Obi of Labour Party Storms the Bloc into Pole Position Poll Show; Yet Again!

the respondents with 2% of voice recordings belonging to those who did not wish to appear on camera. Our team was tracked throughout their polling session to make sure that the respondents were spread across the state.

In the Northwest (states polled: Sokoto, Kebbi, and Jigawa), PDP came strong against APC with 35% against APC’ 30%, Undecided tallied up 20%, more respondents than NNPP and LP combined. NNPP scored just 5% whilst LP just 2% with Not Voting and Undisclosed scoring 4 and 3% respectively. The Obidient wave in the South is put to sleep in the Northwest; the people we polled in the Northwest barely echoed the LPs presidential candidate Peter Obi.

In the Northeast, the similitude in the respondents with Nigeria’s duopoly of APC and PDP reflected the Northwest, LP is not considered in this part of the country. PDP once again, came ahead of APC with 41% versus APC 38%, Undecided hit 9%, NNPP at 5% whilst LP sits perfectly at the bottom of the top four with 3%. Did the Shettima effect only work for Borno? In Bauchi, PDP came first at 45% to APC’ 34%, in Yobe, PDP again surged ahead with 48% to APC’ 30%, it can be fair to say that Kashim Shettima have not given APC the nudge it had hoped for, so has the Muslim-Muslim failed?

In the North-central, LP’s Peter Obi proved strongest. Peter Obi’s numbers in Benue and southern Kogi gave him the numbers he needed. Kwara state, however, went overwhelmingly for APC’ Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With 28% for LP, 21% for APC, 17% for Undisclosed, 16% for PDP, 12% Undecided, 5% for Not Voting, and NNPP garnering just 1%, LP is showing strength like none expected. The Obidient movement is slowly becoming Nigeria’s greatest grassroot consensus of young people wanting to take back control of their country.

“You cannot stop an idea whose time has come” Peter Obi. I guess this is beginning to feel at home, in the South-South, LP sweeps the floor as well, has LP’s time come? The momentum has not decelerated, are marching on with their message, and it has resonated with Nigerians our poll show.

With 47% for LP, second place did not go to PDP or APC, but to Undisclosed at 13%, APC at 12%, almost four times less than LP. PDP was even further below at 8%, there is no better word to describe what Peter Obi has brought to the table than outstanding. The Labour Party has given young people reason to believe in Nigeria again.

In the Southeast, the fate of APC, PDP, and NNPP was even gloomier, very little to show for – it was an utter demolition. Obi has come to stay in Nigerian politics. With 83%, it is a landslide of epic proportion coming from a third force, unheard of in contemporary Nigerian history. PDP and APC took home just 2% and 15% respectively, this is beyond words – Peter Obi is a man on a mission, that much you can grant.

The reality in the Southwest was always going to swing APC’ Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s way, however, He (Bola Tinubu), is not dismissing Peter Obi in the Southwest as Peter Obi demolishes him in the Southeast and South-South. It is important to draw inference from the other areas of our polls touching on “Reason for Voting”, Peter Obi smashes the “Trust & Capacity” category, even in the Southwest. It is imperative that we look at what is at stake in our country; it is only Nigeria, where the ruling party that has driven the country to the brink of collapse will produce a candidate who is promising to continue on that trajectory, and yet garner such support should leave any reasonable interlocutor in a nonplus.

In the Southwest, APC took home 30%, Undecided 23%, LP 15%, Undisclosed 12%, then PDP at 11% followed by Not Voting at 9%. NNPP was relegated off the ballot.

The bulk of the Southwest numbers are in Lagos and Oyo, Labour should focus on reaching out to the overwhelming young. Population of these states, they are the ones if Labour were to be victorious, it will be the youth across this beautiful country of ours.

In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the outcome for Labour was even brighter. Labour won across all ethnicities in the FCT, it would seem, the more urban, and multi-ethnic the city, the Obidient friendlier they are. If a foreigner was reading the below chart, they would think that LP is the dominant party in the land, bear in mind that this is the home of the government, Nigeria’s very own beacon, yet the Labour Party is almost threefold ahead of the ruling party – just remarkable. LP sits at 40%, followed by APC 16%, Undecided at 13%, Not Voting at 10%, Undisclosed at 10% too whilst PDP scored just 9%, and NNPP rest at 2%.

To conclude, we present our general poll for all Nigeria, Peter Gregory Obi of Labour Party, Papa, Mama, Pikin, storms the bloc and sprints ahead with 26%, closely followed by APC at 23%, PDP with 19%, Undecided at 14%, Undisclosed 9%, Not Voting at 7% and finally, NNPP at 2%. Our polls are the most extensive in Nigeria, we went to all states except Zamfara for safety reasons. In two months, we crisscrossed Nigeria like a commuter going to and back from work; we cherish every moment of this, and we are delighted to dare any media, corporation, organisation, government to dispute our numbers. We can back this with video evidence, map tracker, and data – you cannot make this up. At BantuPage, we are made of all the various Nigerian major ethnicities, we are good people with so much love for Nigeria.

Most importantly, we are not sponsored by APC, PDP, LP, NNPP, or any organisation, news outlet, but by our founders. It is in the interest of Nigeria that we put up team to create a different kind of Nigerian media company which is ran by normal without vested interest but the need for a sincere level playing field so as to touch on areas where the major players have abandoned for fear of hurting their cronies and friends at the top.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has extended deadline for the swapping of old naira notes till February 10, 2023.

The CBN stated this in a release on Sunday.

Details later…

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Saturday, reiterated his earlier position that therbe was no going back on the naira redesign project and ruled out the extension of the January 31 deadline for the old N1,000, N500 and N200 to cease from being legal tender.

The President’s position was supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which insisted that the deadline would not be extended.

This is coming at a time when stakeholders, including the 36 state governors, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Arewa Consultative Forum and bank customers, are calling for a review of the policy and an extension of the deadline.

Buhari explained that the currency redesign was not meant to target innocent citizens, but corrupt people and terror financiers hoarding illicit funds.

He also assured Nigerians that the government would ensure that they and their businesses would face no harm from disruptions caused to the entire supply chain arising from the currency redesign.

A statement on Saturday by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari was reacting to reports of long queues of people waiting for hours for their turn to deposit old notes and get new ones.

The statement was titled, ‘Government will eliminate squeeze, chaos in currency swap, President Buhari assures’.

Buhari reiterated that the currency change was aimed at people hoarding illicit funds and not the common man.

He said the changes had become necessary to prevent counterfeits, corruption and terrorist funding as well as to stabilise and strengthen the economy.

The statement read in part, “While taking note that the poorest section of society is facing hardship as they often keep hard cash at home for various expenses, President Buhari gave strong assurances that the government would not leave them to their own fate.

“He reiterated that a number of initiatives by the central bank and all commercial banks are underway to speed up distribution of the new notes and do all that is necessary to forestall cash squeeze and chaos.”

The President’s explanation may have been in reaction to the position of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, who last Wednesday alleged that the currency change and the lingering fuel scarcity were parts of plans to sabotage the February election and prevent his imminent victory.

Similarly, the CBN, on Saturday, insisted that the January 31 deadline for the validity of the old naira notes remained unchanged.

Refusing to yield to pressure to extend the deadline, the apex bank, via its verified Twitter handle, insisted that the deadline was sacrosanct.

Reposting a video of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, from the just concluded Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the apex bank said, “Deadline for the return of old series of 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes remains January 31, 2023.”

Emefiele had said after the MPC meeting, “Unfortunately, I don’t have good news for those who feel we should shift the deadline; my apologies.

“The reason is because, just like the President has said on more than two occasions and even to some people privately, 100 days is more than enough for anybody who has the old currency to deposit it in the banks. And we took every measure to ensure that all the banks were and are still open to accept deposits.”

Echoing the President’s position, the CBN explained that the redesigned notes would solve the challenge of insecurity, especially kidnapping in the North-West.

The Director of Development Finance at the apex bank, Philip Yila, who was represented by Aliyu Ashiru, in Gombe State, explained that the policy would ensure sanity in the system.

The CBN team had before swapping old notes for residents visited traditional rulers of Lamido Akko in the Akko Local Government Area of the state, Umar Atiku; Mai Banganje; and the District Head of Tanglan in the Billiri Local Government Area.

“One of the benefits of redesigned notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria is to ensure integrity. We realised that overtime, there had been challenges in our cash management; a lot of challenges of insecurity border on people who hold money, people who kidnap and seek ransom from the people; enforcing the cashless policy will make it difficult for kidnappers to seek ransom, especially in North-West,” Yila said.

He noted that the bank thought it wise to set up high-powered teams across the federation to sensitise the public to the naira redesign policy.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, however, pleaded with the CBN to extend the deadline, saying as much as the policy was welcomed; a slight extension would ease the discomfort of Nigerians

The Senate and the House of Representatives had also pleaded with the apex bank to extend the deadline by six months till July 31, 2023.

‘Buhari snubbed govs’
In Kano State, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, revealed that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), rejected the plea of the 36 state governors to review the naira redesign policy, especially the extension of the January 31 deadlines for the old notes to cease being legal tender.

Ganduje made this known during an interactive session with scholars, legislators, political leaders and the business community in the state at the Government House, Kano, on Friday.

The governor said he and his colleagues came under one platform without consideration for party affiliation and sent delegates to Buhari to let him know about the hardship caused by the new policy.

“Governors from all the political parties put heads together and sent delegates (to the President), but to no avail. Traditional rulers also followed the same path individually. But up till now, there is nothing in that respect,” he added.

He also stated that he had written to the Presidency to postpone Buhari’s visit to inaugurate some projects in the state because of possible backlash from frustrated residents, who were unable to get the new naira notes.

This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Abba Anwar, which was made available to Sunday PUNCH on Saturday.

The statement read in part, “As we are waiting for this important visit, we found ourselves in this situation, which puts citizens in untold hardship. For security purposes, we wrote to the Presidency that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Kano be postponed.

“We got an acknowledgement copy of the letter. People are really suffering because of this policy (naira redesign).”

During the meeting, the stakeholders unanimously endorsed the decision as they all spoke in support of it.

Two serving senators on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Kabiru Gaya and Barau Jibrin, as well as 20 members of House of Representatives and 30 legislators from the state House of Assembly were among those who queued behind the governor on the decision to postpone Buhari’s visit.

“There are no banks in most of our rural communities. How these people get new naira notes is of great concern. Just look at what is happening in our urban areas, people go and spend hours upon hours in banks without any assurances of getting the new notes,” Ganduje stated.

According to the governor, one cannot make withdrawals of the new notes from Point of Sales operators as many of them have closed shops due to uncertainties.

He emphasized that Kano, being a commercial hub, must be heard loudly, adding, “This problem affects all of us. Therefore, our voice must be heard in all the nooks and crannies. We are a commercial hub. As such, our position must be loud and clear.”

A source close to the governors confirmed that indeed a delegation of the governors met with Buhari, but added that the President’s mind was already made up on the issue. He, however, declined to name the governors who made the trip to the President.

NBA seeks review
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association has said the law allows Nigerians to redeem their old naira notes at the CBN even after the January 31 deadline.

The NBA, in a letter signed by its President, Yakubu Maikyau, and addressed to the CBN governor, called for an urgent review of the policy. This was disclosed in a statement by the NBA National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Lawal, on Saturday.

While lauding the demonetisation policy of the apex bank as one with the potential to stem corruption, vote-buying and other criminal activities, the NBA President noted that “the necessary logistical, infrastructural and manpower support required for the successful implementation of the policy are in short supply and should be greatly improved upon if they are to be leveraged for full implementation of the policy with minimal loss or economic hardship.”

Maikyau expressed concerns that there was no information in the public domain as to what would happen to the old currency in possession of Nigerians after January 31 even as the law was clear on the issue.

He quoted Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act as stating, “Notwithstanding Sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, the bank shall have power, if directed to do so by the President and after giving reasonable notice in that behalf, to call in any of its notes or coins on payment of the face value thereof and any note or coin with respect to which a notice has been given under this sub-section, shall, on the expiration of the notice, cease to be legal tender, but, subject to Section 22 of this Act, shall be redeemed by the Bank upon demand.”

Maikyau noted that “any person who shall be in possession of the old notes, which have ceased to be legal tender by January 31, 2023 is at liberty to approach the CBN and demand for the redemption of the notes and the CBN is under statutory obligation to redeem the notes.”

In view of the dearth of information in that regard, the NBA President added, “Our recommendation on this issue is that in addition to educating Nigerians on demonetisation itself, a campaign on what happens to old bank notes after January 31 should be launched so as to adequately inform the public on what to do and prevent or reverse the rising panic or agitation caused by concerns about the inability of Nigerians to swap their old notes for the new notes by January 31.”

The NBA President had on Friday paid a visit to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, in Abuja, during which he relayed the concerns of Nigerians over the demonetisation policy of the CBN, particularly in view of the scarcity of the new notes and the difficulty Nigerians were encountering in swapping the old notes .

Extend deadline – ACF
Meanwhile, the Arewa Consultative Forum has appealed to the Federal Government to extend the deadline for the expiration and collection of old naira notes in the country.

This was contained in a statement by the Publicity Secretary, ACF, Kano State chapter, Mallam Bello Galadanci, on Saturday.

The statement said the January 31 deadline had almost grounded socio-economic activities in the state.

The statement added that people’s refusal to accept the old naira notes for commercial transactions out of fear of possible inability to deposit the notes in commercial banks was causing untold hardship to the masses.

It read in part, “This has currently made life more difficult for ordinary citizens, because banks, up till today, still give out the old naira notes to customers with the deadline only a few days away.

“We appeal to the Federal Government to reconsider its decision by extending the deadline for the expiration of old naira notes to enable residents to swap their old naira with the new naira notes.”

The National President, Ilasa Development Union in Ekiti State, Tajudeen Ahmed, said on Saturday, “So far so good, the CBN cash swap team is yet to reach our community. We are facing hell; people are running helter-skelter with the old notes.

“I think the only thing that can ameliorate the present situation is to extend the deadline. If the CBN insists on the January 31 date, a lot of people will have to be left with no option but to lose a lot of money.”

The Chairman, Ise Ekiti Development Council, Tunji Falana, who also bemoaned the plight of his community, said the only way out for now was an extension of the deadline.

Falana said although the community was expecting the CBN cash swap team on Monday and Tuesday, and had made necessary security arrangements, “what I saw when the cash swap team was at Emure Ekiti on Friday showed that there is only a little that the intervention can do.”

Depositors besiege banks
Depositors, on Saturday, took advantage of the decision of banks to extend their work hours by rushing to banks to deposit the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes in their custody to beat Tuesday’s deadline. More depositors are expected to show up today (Sunday).

The banks had communicated to their customers earlier in the week that they would open for business on Saturday and Sunday strictly to receive deposits of the old notes between the hours of 10am and 3pm.

In most branches visited by Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, especially those located in highly populated areas of Lagos and Ogun states, scores of depositors were seen in queues and under canopies outside the banking halls.

Some of them complained about spending hours to make deposits under inclement weather and asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to listen to the voice of critical stakeholders and extend the deadline for the old notes to cease being legal tender.

A businesswoman, Mrs Florence Fadeyi, said she got to the Zenith Bank branch in the Alagbado area of Lagos State around 9am and was given a tally number 128, adding that she only got into the banking hall around 2.30pm and left around 3pm.

She explained, “I didn’t anticipate the crowd I met on the bank premises as I thought that many people had deposited their old notes. I could have done that before now, but I was out of town for three weeks and just came back two days ago.

“Six cashiers were frantically attending to the depositors and I really pitied them because of the pressure on them. Some of them tried to be friendly, but as humans, they sometimes snapped at unruly depositors. I finally left the bank around 3pm.”

Another depositor at a branch of Access Bank in the Ogba area of Lagos, Chuks Okafor, lamented the many hours he spent to deposit about N350,000, insisting that he left his shop in the care of an apprentice.

“My brother, time is money! I have wasted about four hours here. The CBN and the banks should make things easier for Nigerians. I don’t know why they are insisting that the deadline cannot be extended. I started rejecting the old notes yesterday (Friday) when it became apparent that the deadline will not be extended and I have lost opportunities to make sales,” Okafor said.

At the UBA and Access Bank branches in Ibafo, Ogun State, restive depositors complained of spending hours in the scorching sun without being able to get into the banking halls.

A security guard at the Access Bank branch, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that he and his colleagues have had a hectic time pacifying the aggrieved depositors, who felt that the process was not moving fast enough.

A senior bank official at the Ajose Adeogun, Victoria Island, Lagos branch of a Tier-1 bank told Sunday PUNCH that unlike the situation in the mainland areas of the state, not many depositors turned up on Saturday.

He said, “The situation here is a bit different from what is obtainable on the mainland as we did not record many depositors today (Saturday). As of the closing time at 4pm, we recorded less than N400,000 in deposits.

“The manager has directed that only one teller should come to the branch tomorrow (Sunday) to attend to depositors as we don’t anticipate a crowd as the area is a commercial area and not residential. Other tellers from branches around here have been deployed in our branches on the mainland, especially in areas with a high population of residents and traders.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to February 5, 2023.

INEC had pegged January 31 as the deadline for the collection of PVCs but a National Commissioner with the electoral umpire Festus Okoye said it has been extended by one week.

More to follow…

garfield1:
If amechi cannot give buhari 25% as a minister with all the resources,then it is a wasted pact

garfield1:
I also support tonye but it seems he isn't campaigning for tinubu

garfield1:
How? Up magnus

Felabrity:
so the Buhari you have been defending for ages is now wicked?

APCHaram:
Idiot, I have always seen Emefile as the worst CBN governor and a rogue banker

The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, Benue State, on Monday, ordered the All Progressives Congress to conduct a fresh primary election in 11 local government areas of the state to determine its governorship candidate for the forthcoming general elections.

The appellate court justices who decided the case are Justice Mohammed Danjuma, Justice Abraham Biobelle and Justice Ibrahim Jauro.

Delivering the judgment on the appeal filed by one of the governorship aspirants, Prof Terhemba Shija, Justice Danjuma said that the court agreed with Shija that there was no valid primary election held on May 27 by the party for the nomination of its governorship candidate for which Fr. Hyacinth Alia was declared the winner.

Justice Danjuma said, “I have seen that the APC did not conduct a valid primary election on May 27, 2022, reasons the appeal panel ordered a fresh election that was conducted on June 9, 2022, in some local governments.

“In the interest of justice, I cannot allow those voters in the remaining 11 local governments to be disenfranchised, therefore, APC should go back and conduct an election in 11 local governments within 14 days and INEC should recognise the winner after adding both earlier primary results.”

The local government areas where the court ordered a fresh primary election are Gboko, Gwer-East, Gwer-West, Guma, Katsina, Logo Makurdi, Otukpo, Ukum, Tarka and Vandeikya.

The local governments where the rerun was held on June 9, 2022, are Buruku, Kwande, Agatu, Konshisha, Ogbadibo, Ushongo, Oju Okpokwu, Ado, Ohimini Obi and Apa.

The court also delivered judgment on the case filed by another governorship aspirant, Senator Barnabas Gemade.

The court of appeal upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court which earlier dismissed the suit against Alia for being statute barred.

The appeal of the Peoples Democratic Party against the APC House of Assembly and House of Representatives candidates was also dismissed.

The court held that PDP has no locus standi to meddle in the affairs of the APC or another political party.

In his reaction, Alia appealed to supporters to remain calm.

“We are law-abiding citizens. We respect the judgment of the court and we are appealing to our teeming supporters to remain calm. We are still going to be on the ballot. We are all in this for the greater of our state and God,” he said.

The state chairman of the APC, Austin Agada, also asked the party’s supporters to remain calm saying, the people had already spoken, adding that “we believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

Najdorf:
Lol with the way you're saying it I did not know whether to congratulate you or not

I know Rice is very competitive though

NigerianAngelo:
South East:
1. Anambra
2. Imo
3. Enugu
4. Ebonyi
5. Abia

South-South:
6. Cross River
7. Akwa Ibom
8. Rivers
9. Bayelsa
10. Delta
11. Edo

South-West: (all)
12. Lagos
13. Ondo
14. Ekiti
15. Ogun
16. Osun
17. Oyo

Central: (5/6)
18. Kogi
19. Benue
20. Plateau
21. Niger
22. Nasarawa

North-East:
23. Adamawa
24. Taraba
25. Gombe

North-West:
26. Kano
27. Kaduna

FCT:
28. FCT


Argue with Feb 28th.

Odetokun3:
Join LP and become a saint

A group, known as the Northern Liberal Democratic Movement (NLDM) has called on the presidential candidate of the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso to withdraw from the race for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to the group, the mood and opinion of stakeholders in the region and the country were in favour of Atiku who it stated was in a better position to win the contest irrespective of the former governor Kano’s decision.

This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja by the National Secretary of the movement, Hon Balarabe Ali Bello on Thursday.

In the statement, Bello stated that apart from the mood of the people of the region, the current reality is prompting scores of many chieftains and members of the NNPP to dump the party for the PDP across the region in anticipation of a likely Atiku victory in February.

The NNPP has in the last few weeks lost its chieftains to the PDP with the recent being the Deputy Governorship Candidates of the party in Niger and Yobe State, so also the state chairman of the party in Kaduna and the Zonal secretary of the party in the North East zone. These chieftains defected with scores of their supporters.


Prior to that, no fewer than 700,000 members of the party defected to PDP in Bauchi state, North East zone of the country prompting many stakeholders in the region to urge Kwankwaso to throw in the towel in favour of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar whom many see as well placed to win the February’s election.

“I am joining other well-meaning Northerners to urge our brother, His Excellency, distinguished Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to consider the overwhelming interest of our people and allow the Wazirin of Adamawa win the forthcoming elections.

“He is a young man who would eventually get his opportunities at the appointed time.

“The rate at which many members of his party are defecting to the PDP should serve as a clear signal to him to do the right thing in the interest of the people of the North and country,” Bello said.

ejimatic:
INEC gave the APC the opportunity to challenge the result.Anaba representing INEC also mentioned it that there over voting in 1750 polling units. It is worrisome that what did not happen in Ekiti came up inOsun.I hope we will not have recurrence in February elections. I am interested in seeing how the matters will be decided from TB to AC and SC finally

ejimatic:
What will now happn sir when BVAS says 125 accredited but. 2001 is posted on the server?

ejimatic:
Yiur views are respected and treasured always. In the case of Obaseki and APC ,Obaseki called the UI registrar to prove that his certificate was issued by the school and the school admiited error in the year of graduation indicated. on the certificate .Section 245 of the constitution says the defendant must prove his innocence on the allegation like that of forgery.

ejimatic:
. 1 Your analysis is appreciated.I have great interest in the judgement and as I have said before on this platform BVAS is on trial in Osun Tribunal. APC has certified results from INEC .PDP has another. The PDP statisticstian has another. One election different results! What a rape on our democracy! However APC claimed 744 poling units are affected ,PDP said it was 6 poling units INEC agreed there were overvoting cases even Anaba ,INEC lawyer, said in his written address that over voting was in 1576 polling units. The question is how can a person have cases of overvoting with BVAS? It is possible by having a result on EC8 forms very different from what is sent into the INEC portal. No wonder there discrepancies in most EC8 forms and the results sent online. In a case where BVAS reports are different from INEC online results what do we expect from the Tribunal? If INEC conducted election without syncronization of BVAS ,that means the Body was not ready for the election then. In fact the process of synchnisation is alien to our electioral laws. APC proved the case beyond any reasonable doubt as agreed by INEC. In my opinion it 80 for APC 20 for PDP. 2 . Forgery. : The onus lies on the PDP to prove the genuiness of the Adeleke's result by 1 Calling on WAEC to present the CTC of Adeleke results, and bringing the University he claimed he went to to study for confirmation of his result. Neither of this was done by PDP. The question is : Where did he get the certificate he attached to his form when he had F9 in all his subjects and accumulated years of study is alien to both Nigerian and foreign education.?In my opinion ,the ruling here will be 100% for APC and 0% for PDP.