Chief Dele Momodu, the Director of Strategic Communications Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, has asked president Muhammadu Buhari to call the presidential candidate of his party, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order.
Momodu in a terse statement accused the former Lagos State governor of attempting to use what he described as his media goons to spread fake results when in the obvious sense, he has been trashed even in his traditional strong territories.
He said, “Our attention has just been drawn to the recklessly dangerous publication unilaterally awarding an impossible victory to the APC Presidential candidate Chief Bola Tinubu. The said newspaper is owned by Tinubu.
“Only yesterday, we all saw how thugs of the APC Chieftains and his allies took over the streets of Lagos burning ballot boxes and documents and generally misbehaving in other to disenfranchise the determined electorates.
“Despite all of these ugly attempts at stealing victory, the APC suffered its worst cataclysmic loss in most of the polling centers in Lagos. The same happened in Kano. Incapable of ever being sobered by the crushing humiliation in its traditional territories, we woke up this morning to read about the pathetic and illegal lies cooked up by the Tinubu media goons.
“Tinubu remains the only mainstream candidate whose homebase of South West was decimated by opposition parties in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti. Most of the Northern Governors he also expected to help him garner votes in the Northern regions failed spectacularly to deliver the badly needed votes. He failed in the South East and South South.
“The only candidate with the national spread is the PDP Presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. But as a responsible citizen and respected statesman, he will never rush to the media to claim his well deserved victory and glory after a long and torturous journey.
“We hereby call on INEC and the Federal Government to cage these troublesome APC Chieftains. We have all been witnesses to their unruly behaviour as they did everything to bully and blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari in order to chicken out of the currency swap policy. We also witnessed how they practically intimidated the President to the extent of forcing him to publicly display who he voted for in yesterday’s elections. It was quite a bizarre, unfortunate and unprecedented scene to watch. We advise the President to find the courage to call the bluff of these desperate politicians who feel they can buy the whole of Nigeria…”
INEC has now uploaded over 15000 results on her portal ( https://www.inecelectionresults.ng/elections/63f8f25b594e164f8146a213 ).
So click on that INEC portal and follow through to your PU level and see if your polling unit has been uploaded and also check if it is the same thing you have on your physical result sheet given by the presiding officers.
If you cannot find your result, or does not tally you can begin to make the right call .
In addition , you can also open an ” election manager” app on your android to follow up collated result .
There was palpable tension in Dagiri under Gwagwalada Local Government Area of Abuja as suspected political thugs destroyed 24 ballot boxes in eight polling units few hours to voting deadline.
The PUNCH had reported that thugs on Saturday afternoon destroyed ballot boxes, chased the Independent National Electoral Commission ad hoc officer and prospective voters in the area away.
The polling units are 022, 021, 023, 003, at Dagiri Phase three by Venus Road open space.
Others are 011, 012,013,014 located close to Wazobia Park by Madam Mercy Road open space.
It was gathered that the stick wielding thugs, riding three bikes, conducted the attacks simultaneously, evading the suspicion of security personnel in the area.
An eye witness, simply identified as Cecelia, said the thugs, five in number, were unarmed but came wielding sticks and knives.
She noted that the attack was after a good number of persons in the area had voted.
She said, “I was standing here when Five guys with sticks and knife attacked the ballot boxes and everybody ran away. They used sticks to hit the ballot boxes and left.”
Another resident said the thugs could carry out the attack because no security official was attached to the area.
The PUNCH reports that since the incident security patrol have increased in the area amidst heavy security presence.
Meanwhile, INEC ad hoc staff have commenced voting procedures to the residents, who are ready to cast their votes.
Voters in Fegge Onitsha have been left stranded as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS brought to the unit doesn’t have network signal.
An eyewitness who’s voting in the area told JOURNALIST101 that despite arriving late, the BVAS isn’t working.
“We waited till 10:30am when the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission arrived. After giving us numbers for accreditation and voting to commence, we were told that there’s no network.
Right now, they’re struggling to fix the issue without success yet.
JOURNALIST101 reports that the polling unit; Lafiaji primary school I & II has 100s of registered voters that are currently in the venue to cast their votes.
Information reaching BVICHANNEL1 is that voting has commenced in most places in Lagos state with heavy military presence while voting is yet to commence in Anambra state . Our Reporters in the polling units in Anambra State confirmed that INEC officials have not been sighted as at 10.30am .
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) wishes to state that it has it on good authority as follows:
1. That the above underlined polls may most likely be delayed for many hours behind the scheduled time tomorrow or not held at all in many areas of the State.
2. That the above followed the controversies surrounding the eleventh hour posting of the relevant INEC senior staffers to areas of their assignment including the State’s 21 LGAs.
3. That those mostly affected include the SPOs or Special Supervising Officers and their subordinate POs and APOs.
4. That following late or eleventh hour posting of the SPOs (2:pm today), most of them are unlikely to reach their LGAs’ destinations before the midnight of 12:am today being 24th Feb 2023.
5. That as such, some, if not many of them will not reach their posting areas untill tomorrow morning which makes it difficult for sensitive materials in possession of the EOs to be handed over to them for sorting and final re-arrangement before being deployed and used for the polls.
6. That the above is expected to cause several, if not many hours of delay in the commencement of the polls and possibly non holding of the polls in some, if not many parts of the State (Anambra).
7. That these are also most likely to aid the suspected planned massive failure of the functionality of the INEC accreditation and voting of machines such as BVAS and IReV and possibly engineered collapsing of the major communications network providers federally contracted.
8. That this is more so when Anambra INEC has been emboiled in a litany of scandals involving posting and counter-posting of EOs and ICT heads between the REC (Dr Mrs Agwu) and INEC National Commissioner for Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi (Festus Okoye Esquire).
9. That there are also serious allegations of heavy monetary inducements and compromise of the EOs and ICT heads at the State headquarters of INEC and its 21 LGAs’ offices.
10. That the Anambra INEC is also in the eyes of the storm regarding the recent discovery of thousands of PVCs belonging to innocent registered voters in Nnewi North dumped at the bank of a local river and discovered and taken to the Authority FM Radio by a Samaritan hunter.
Signed
Emeka Umeagbalasi
Chair, Intersociety
Barr Chidinma Udegbunam
Head, Publicity
While security agencies have assured voters of adequate protection during the voting exercise, it is necessary for individuals to take personal measures in safeguarding themselves during this critical period.
Here are some security precautions to take today;
1. Avoid political arguments at the poll
2. Avoid participating in any political debate, especially if it involves a party other than the one you support. At polling units, it is inappropriate to engage in political discussions that could lead to arguments or violence.
3. Don’t reveal your preferred candidate at the poll
4. People have different candidates to whom they pledge allegiance during the election season. Some of them go so far as to pick fights with those who aren’t in their camp. As a result, you should avoid disclosing who you intend to vote for at the poll.
5. Don’t move about with huge cash
6. If you intend to move around with large sums of money during the election, you should reconsider. Miscreants take advantage of the period to rob people off their valuables.
7. Keep a safe distance from undefined crowds or groups of people
8. It is critical that you do not associate with an undefined crowd or group of people who enjoy analyzing political issues and candidates in public.
9. Do not partake of election violence
10. Do not allow yourself to be used by politicians to commit election violence. This is because some opponents may be lurking in the shadows, ready to harm those who do this.
11. Avoid bringing children to the polling units
12. It is important to keep children safe during the elections because of the high stakes involved. Children should not be brought to polling places in case of violence.
13. Report unusual activities
14. Another important safety precaution that voters can take during the voting process is to report any unusual activity to the proper authorities.
15. Stay updated with issues on election day
16. Keep up with current events by constantly listening to the news and attempting to stay informed. This way, you can keep track of events as they unfold and avoid becoming involved in any unrest.
17. Don’t keep late night
18. It is critical that you complete all of your tasks before late at night on election day. Avoid circumstances that will require you to stay out late on election day.
19. Celebrate in a civil manner
20. If after the elections your candidate wins, then it is important that you celebrate in a civil manner.
After a four-year wait, the D-day is here; Nigerians will troop out today to elect their leaders in a general election that promises so much. The highest office in the land, that of the President, is up for grabs after months of campaigns by 18 candidates of different political parties.
Eighteen candidates have thrown their hats in the ring, but pundits believe that the contest is between the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, who is a former vice-president; and Labour Party, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State.
For Tinubu and Atiku, the election represents perhaps their last hurrah. Both men are advanced in age – the former vice-president is 76-year-old, while Tinubu, who is popularly known as the ‘City Boy’ is 70. By the time the next election circle comes, they will be 80 and 74, respectively.
In a nation that is increasingly becoming conscious of the age and agility of its president, 2027 will come too late for the duo of Tinubu and Atiku. That throws up Obi, who at 61, carries the hope of the youth as someone they can easily relate to, and who has posed the greatest challenge to the status quo.
Though somehow overshadowed by the presidential contest, Saturday will also decide the fate of 1,101 candidates, who are vying for 109 senatorial seats, and 3,122 candidates for House of Representatives seats, making a total of 4,223 candidates contesting for 469 legislative positions.
“In terms of gender distribution, 3,875 candidates are male, made up of 35 for presidential and vice-presidential; 1,008 for Senate and 2,832 for House of Representatives. Similarly, 381 females comprising one for presidential, 92 for Senate, and 288 for House of Representatives are contesting. There are also 11 persons with disability in the race,” the Independent National Electoral Commission stated.
For Atiku, who served as former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s deputy between 1999 and 2007, this election makes it the sixth time that he will be aspiring for the top job. He lost in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
The 2023 presidential election is the first time that Tinubu will be gunning for the presidency. The former senator left office as a two-term governor of Lagos State in 2007 and is credited with leading the coalition that ousted the PDP from power in 2015 and has extended his influence beyond the South-West region in recent years.
Obi, on the other hand, served as governor of Anambra from March to November 2006, February to May 2007, and June 2007 to March 2014. In 2019, he became the PDP vice-presidential nominee running alongside Atiku. In 2022, Obi ran as a running mate under the PDP, but left for the LP in May 2022 to emerge as its presidential candidate.
Other presidential candidates are Dumebi Kachikwu of the African Democratic Congress; Rabiu Kwankwaso, New Nigeria People’s Party; Kola Abiola, People’s Redemption Party; Omoyele Sowore, Africa Action Congress; Adewole Adebayo, Social Democratic Party; Malik Ado-Ibrahim, Young Progressive Party; Prof Christopher Imumulen, Accord Party; Prof Peter Umeadi, All Progressives Grand Alliance; and Yusuf Mamman Dan Talle, Allied Peoples Movement.
The list also includes Hamza Al-Mustapha, Action Alliance; Sani Yusuf, Action Democratic Party; Nnnadi Osita, Action Peoples Party; Oluwafemi Adenuga, Boot Party; Osakwe Felix Johnson, National Rescue Movement; and Nwanyanwu Daniel Daberechukwu, Zenith Labour Party.
Dominant campaign issues
This year’s electioneering threw up many issues with observers saying it is perhaps the most discussed in the history of Nigeria. Never has social media played a prominent role in the electoral process than this year.
The youth have used social media to raise a lot of issues, market their preferred candidates, de-market others and harangue those who do not share their sentiments. For the first time in history, the youth have organised themselves into a movement for one of the candidates with the social media providing the platform for them. Whether this will translate into electoral victory or not will be known in the next few hours.
The issue of the health of the contestants also featured prominently in the campaigns with many expressing concern about the state of health and mind of the leading presidential candidates during the gruelling electioneering that took the gladiators to most states of the federation.
Closely related to that were the many gaffes of the candidates, leading party members and spokespersons, while verbal insults were a commonplace. Supporters of the various candidates were not left out as they took to the social media space to fight real and imaginary enemies.
The crisis that followed the naira redesign policy of the Federal Government as announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria caused much ruckus in the political landscape as it was alleged that it was targeted at preventing vote-buying by politicians, who had stockpiled billions of naira in old notes, which were declared no longer legal tender.
Protests followed the cash crunch that followed the withdrawal of the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes before the latter was allowed to circulate till April 10. Many state governments also dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme Court over the crisis. The cases will only be decided after the presidential election.
The biting fuel scarcity in the nation since October last year was also capitalised on by political actors in their favour and against their opponents.
Parties express readiness
Speaking on what will be the immediate priority of Tinubu if wins the election, the Special Adviser on Media, Communications and Public Affairs to the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Dele Alake, said, “I can tell you that in the next 100 days, he will reduce whatever tension is occasioned by the current challenges facing the country. Tinubu will usher in an era of peace, tranquillity, economic progress, prosperity, security and all those challenges that Nigerians are experiencing now will be resolved.
The most important thing is the visionary leadership, knowledge and courage that Tinubu is noted for, which he will bring on board. These are critical attributes of progressive leadership. None of the other contestants have it. We all know Tinubu has the courage; he will push through hard policies and break all institutional and corporate barriers to achieve his goal for the greatest good.”
The Director of Strategic Communication, PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Dele Momodu, said, “I am convinced that Atiku is the best candidate for Nigeria at this point in time. He has the structure needed to actualise his dream. It has taken him a long time to come this far, but I believe he is a man whose time has come.
“There is no apprehension whatsoever. I am convinced of his victory. Contrary to what some people are saying, it is going to be a landslide for Atiku. This is because he is the only pan-Nigeria candidate in the race.”
The chief spokesman for the LP Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, stated, “As far as we are concerned, we are determined to win this election by a landslide…we don’t think it will get to a run-off. We want to win the election in the first ballot. We have the number on our side and we strongly believe it will work for us.
“If our candidate wins, expect practical actions in the first 100 days after his swearing-in based on his seven-point agenda. In terms of security, you will see improvements. In the economy, I have shown you how we will encourage people to return to farming. Infrastructural development is there as well as cutting waste in government in alignment with the Stephen Oronsaye report. There will be employment opportunities and legal reform will be looked into. These are achievable and Obi and his running mate will hit the ground running once they are elected.”
On his part, the spokesman for the NNPP Presidential Campaign Council, Ladipo Johnson, said, “We are confident that our message has resonated with the people at the grass roots, and I will say we are quietly confident of victory at the polls. We believe the people of this country want a brighter and more rewarding future. They want access to good health, education, housing, infrastructure and proper security and they know that Kwankwaso is the man with the experience, capacity and competence to deliver on these things.
“Young people in this country want younger and more dynamic leaders that can lead us right in the next four to eight years. We have come out of the pandemic but we have not come out of its economic effects. We need someone that can think outside the box, someone who has the capacity and competence to rule and has the political will to challenge the business intent that women represent.”
Security personnel deployed
The various security agencies have given assurances of their readiness to ensure free and fair conduct of the poll, and warned troublemakers to stay away from polling units. The Nigeria Police Force, which is the primary agency responsible for election security, deployed 310,973 officers and men for the poll.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, on Friday, directed the deployment of four Commissioners of Police in Delta State for the election.
The spokesman for the Delta State Police Command, Bright Edafe, said in a statement that the deployment was to ensure effective policing and adequate security during the exercise.
The statement said John Babangida would be in charge of Delta, Mamman Sanda would handle Delta North, Zachariah Fera would be in charge of Delta South, while Adebola Hamzat would take charge of Delta Central.
It said the police would work with sister agencies to provide adequate security at polling units, collation centres and INEC offices.
It further noted that marine police officers were deployed to secure the waterways to ensure free movement of voting materials, officials and the electorate.
Edafe restated the ban on vehicular movement between 12am and 6pm on Election Day, noting, “Only officials on emergency and essential duties will be allowed passage during this period. The ban on security escorts for politicians during the election still stands, (and) politicians are advised not to move with their security details on Election Day.”
The statement said vigilance groups and anti-cult volunteers would not be allowed to play any role during the elections.
The IG had earlier ordered the deployment of three Commissioners of Police in Imo State.
The CPs deployed were Banji Ogunrinde in charge of Imo East Zone (Owerri zone), Chris Aimionowane, Imo West Zone( Orlu zone) and Alex Wannang, Imo North (Okigwe zone).
A statement issued by Imo police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, read, “In compliance with the IGP’s directives, three commissioners of police have been deployed in Imo State to provide watertight security before, during and after the 2023 elections; the officers have resumed duty and are strategising on the already existing security architecture in order to provide effective security before, during and after the elections in all nooks and crannies of the state.”
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of election monitoring, South-South zone, Moses Jituboh, said the police were adequately prepared for the presidential and National Assembly elections.
He stated that all policemen deployed for the polls would be neutral in the discharge of their constitutional duties while protecting lives and property.
Jituboh, who stated this while addressing men and officers of the Bayelsa State Police Command at the Police Officers’ Mess in Yenagoa on Friday, said the police remained an apolitical institution.
The DIG was accompanied by Assistant Inspector-General Amaechi Elumelu and Police Commissioner for Delta State, Mohammed Ari, who were both deployed in Bayelsa for election duty.
Jituboh said, “We are prepared for the elections. We have been gingered; we have been trained and we are ready. We have come, we have seen and we will conquer.
“The police force is apolitical; the police are not in any political party; the NPF is a national institution. So, our neutrality is to protect lives and property and to defend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are neither here nor there, but we are straight.
“I am just coming from Port Harcourt, the preparation there is top. I was in Uyo, everything is in place; so Bayelsa State will not be different with the array of officers on the ground.”
He assured the officers and men of the command that the IG was already doing something positive about their welfare, and encouraged them to go about their duties professionally.
The Federal Road Safety Corps claimed to have deployed 21,000 of its personnel for the poll, while the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps put the number of its officers and men on election duty at 51,000.
Similarly, the Nigeria Immigration Service put on standby 21,640 personnel to man border posts and ensure that foreigners do not infiltrate the country during the period of the election, while the Nigeria Correctional Service deployed 11,336 to provide security cover for the various correctional centres
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had put 9,447 and 350 personnel on standby for election duty.
Soldiers were sighted in military vehicles and motorcycles in Lagos, Magboro and Abeokuta in Ogun State in apparent show of force.
Movement restriction
The police had earlier announced the restriction of both human and vehicular movement between midnight and 6pm today (Saturday).
The police said security aides attached to public office holders were not allowed to escort their principals to polling units
The restriction order also affects state-owned security outfits.
All land and sea borders as well as airports have been closed.
87.2 million voters
According to the INEC, a total of 87,209,007 voters out of the 93,469,008 registered voters, who have collected their Permanent Voter Cards, will determine the next set of leaders. Of the total eligible voters, 49,054,162 (52.5 per cent) are male. Female voters constitute 47.5 per cent, with 44,414,846.
Elections will be held in 176,606 polling units located in 8,809 registration areas or electoral wards in 774 local government areas nationwide. The commission, however, said voting would not take place in 240 polling units mainly because of insecurity or because communities there have been displaced by violence.
INEC says it will need 707,384 presiding and assistant presiding officers, 17,685 supervisory presiding officers, 9,620 returning officers and 530,538 security officials to oversee the elections.
Polling stations will be open for six hours, from 8.30am to 2.30pm. Voters who are still in the queue as of 2.30 pm will be allowed to go through and cast their ballots.
Over 200,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems are being deployed to verify voter identity through fingerprint or facial recognition to help combat fraud, corruption and tallying errors.
To be declared winner of the presidential election, a candidate must have obtained the highest number of votes and must also poll at least 25 per cent of the ballots in at least two-third of the 36 states and Abuja. If none of the candidates meets the requirements, there will be a run-off between the two top candidates within 21 days.
‘Fake’ audio clip
Meanwhile, Atiku on Friday described as “utter rubbish” an audio clip circulating in social media wherein he alongside his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, and the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, allegedly hatched plans to scuttle the election.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president said the clip confirmed his alarm that the ruling party would take propaganda to new heights a few hours to balloting.
The statement read in part, “We warned last week that as the election approaches, there would be a spike in the rate of propaganda on social media. With barely 24 hours to the poll, we have witnessed propaganda from not just the All Progressives Congress, but the Labour Party as well.
“In this latest drivel, a montage of speeches delivered by Atiku, Tambuwal and Okowa since last year were manipulated and pieced together to give an impression that they were discussing plans to rig Saturday’s election. In this age of artificial intelligence technology, even dead people can be portrayed as delivering speeches. This is nothing new!
“For the record, Atiku has run in two presidential elections and has never been indicted or prosecuted for election violence or vote-buying.
But some people think they can sell a narrative of Atiku manipulating this election. This is indeed the height of desperation, the last kick of a dying horse. The APC and the Labour Party must note that elections are not won on social media but at the polling units.”
Following last Wednesday’s gruesome murder of the senatorial candidate of the Labour Party for Enugu East Senatorial District, Mr Oyibo Chukwu by unknown gunmen, the Amuri community where he hails from, has called for the total postponement of the 2023 elections.
Speaking to newsmen at the Enugu residence of late Oyibo Chukwu on Friday, the community said there cannot be any free, free and credible elections in an atmosphere of violence and killings.
The community who decried the carnage unleashed on their son, called for security protection for the family of the deceased and those campaigning, voting and vying for elections for different elective positions in the state.
They insisted that campaigns and elections cannot be conducted in an environment devoid of adequate security and protection of lives and properties, calling on the Nigerian security agencies and the international community to intervene in the matter.
Calling for justice to be served, Barr. Ben Nwoye, former APC chairman in the state who spoke on behalf of the community described Mr Chukwu as a good and honest man, adding that his only crime was to seek to serve his community, state and country at large.
Part of the statement reads: “Darkness has befallen Enugu State and Nigeria. Oyibo Chukwu is a good and honest man. He served his people and Nigeria through the constitutional conference, all the way to being a leader in the Nigerian Bar Association.
“Today, he’s gone because he wants to serve and because he loves his nation. We, the Amuri people are seeking for justice for Oyibo Chukwu. We’re asking that the conspiracy of silence has to end. Somebody saw something, somebody witnessed something, somebody knew something. The security apparatus cannot do much without those who saw or knew something doing something about what they saw.
“We the Amuri people are calling on the entire nation and the international community to intervene. There cannot be free and fair election when people’s blood have been spilled. How do we go out and vote when there’s no protection?
We’re happy that INEC has postponed the election of Enugu East Senatorial District based on what the law says but we believe that more should be done. It shouldn’t end with Enugu East Senatorial District because one would wonder who else will go to vote tomorrow if at this time we don’t know what happened to our brother.
We are begging the entire Enugu State, Nigeria and the International Community. Let’s stop faking this. The violence is real, the bloodletting is real. Oyibo is dead. He did nothing rather than wanting to serve. We need a total postponement of the election. That is what we’re calling for.
“We cannot have a democracy where people’s lives are at stake, where they kill people because they came out to campaign or vote. That won’t be called a free and fair election. It’s a bloody election. It’s either the Nigerian government is able to protect both those who are vying for position and those voting or they call it off.
We need protection. Amuri people needs protection. We have been targeted. Oyibo was not just the only one killed, there is also five others that were involved and there’s another person killed from the PDP. There were also people shot from the side of the APC gubernatorial candidate. We cannot have election when people are dying. You cannot tell people to go out and vote when clearly, they cannot exercise their right without fear of losing their lives.
We still have candidates of various minority political parties who do not have any security and they are moving around and campaigning. No protection from DSS, no protection from the Army or Police.
“We’re asking the security agents to provide security for Oyibo Chukwu’s family. There’s no presence of security vehicle here, no Police, DSS or Army. The family needs protection. We don’t know why he’s killed. We don’t know who killed him but there’s need for his family to be protected.”
