15032019 - INEC kicks as court stops make-up polls in Adamawa

34—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019
Ikpeazu will not discriminate
among Abia people —Okiyi
By Ugochukwu
Alaribe
A B A —
ABIA State Commissioner
for Information, Chief John
Okiyi has said that Gov.
Okezie Ikpeazu does not
believe in the 97 per cent,
five per cent theory and will
never discriminate among
the sections of the state in
the areas of appointments
and location of projects.
Okiyi who disclosed this
in a statement explained
that the governor will
develop all areas of the
state and work with those
who supported him and
those who did not, stressing
that Ikpeazu understands
the divine nature of his
mandate as the father of all
Abia people.
He stated that with the
conclusion of the polls, the
time for politics is gone in
favour of governance and
development and urged
the people of the state as
well as the governor’s
opponents in the election
to join hands to develop the
state.
“It is my position that
nobody lost in the election
in Abia State. We all were
victorious, especially given
that we have no available
report of loss of Abia life
Human rights
group warns
against
compromising
rescheduled
elections
By Anayo Okoli
U SOUTH-EAST
MUAHIA—A
based human rights and
rule of law organization,
Intersociety, has warned
President Muhammadu
Buhari, the ruling APC and
Independent National
Electoral Commission,
INEC, to ensure that the
rescheduled March 23rd
inconclusive polls in six
states are not manipulated
in any way using security
agents, to avoid throwing
the country into avoidable
crisis.
Intersociety warned that
if what it called “recent
broad day armada of
rigging and militarization
of the 2019 Presidential,
National Assembly,
Governorship and State
Assembly Polls” is allowed
in the rescheduled
elections, it could trigger off
crisis leading to insecurity
in the concerned states.
In a statement signed by
the chairman of
Intersociety, Emeka
Umeagbalasi, the group
called on INEC in
particular not to allow itself
to be used to cause crisis in
the states involved by
ensuring that the peoples
votes genuinely count and
are not manipulated.
during the election. The
exchange of banters,
accusations, etc, are all
associated with partisan
politicking everywhere in
the world.
“The time for politics is
gone. We are now in the era
of governance and
development of Abia. Let all
Abians join hands with the
governor to develop the
state. I therefore call on
Uche Ogah and Alex Otti
to call Governor Ikpeazu
and congratulate him. That
alone will indicate that they
actually consider Abia’s
interest first before their
personal interests. "
The commissioner
explained that the founding
fathers of the state
instituted the Abia Charter
of Equity to develop the
state with no section
discriminating against the
other or any part
dominating the other.
Okorocha missing as INEC presents
Certificates of Return to lawmakers
...says INEC playing funny, cruel script
•We’re vindicated by Uzodinma's loss —Okorocha
•Shun new transactions with Imo govt, Ihedioha warns banks
By Omeiza Ajayi
& By Chinonso
Alozie
A BUJA—THE
Independent
National Electoral
Commission INEC has
presented Certificates of
Return to newly elected
federal lawmakers, urging
them to expedite action on
the electoral framework for
the 2023 general elections.
However, Imo State
Governor, Rochas
Okorocha was not available
following the decision of the
commission not to present
him with a certificate for
allegedly coercing an
electoral official to
announce him winner of
the February 23, Imo West
senatorial poll.
Okorocha immediately
fired back, accusing INEC
of allowing itself to be used
by partisans who are afraid
of his future political
ambition.
Speaking with journalists
in Abuja shortly after the
event, Okorocha accused
some unnamed forces in
the polity of trying to stop
him from making an input
into those who will become
principal members of the
National Assembly as well
as the politics of 2023
presidency.
He said: “I am sure I
was conspicuously absent
from the certificates
issuance ceremony. I was
not there because INEC
had removed my name
from the list of senators
having been declared the
VISIT: Lagos State Commissioner of Police Zubairu Muazu Halilu
(left), with Col Godwin Sunmola (retd), Head, Security Service, First
Bank of Nigeria Plc, during a courtesy visit to the police commissioner
in Lagos, yesterday.
winner by the zonal
returning officer. So, I am
actually waiting to hear why
INEC struck my name out.
“I am told from the
grapevine that it was
because of duress. In other
words, somebody must
have coerced the returning
officer to do what he was
not supposed to do but here
again, I do not understand
what that means because
there was nothing of such.
How can you put somebody
under duress to declare you
the winner of an election
that you have already won?
And look, they are not
saying that we did not win.
They are not saying that the
other man won.
Imo REC playing
funny, cruel script
—Okorocha
"So, I do not understand
why we should be the
people forcing someone to
do something wrong to
claim victory. It is not true
but I must let the world
understand that this is a
game that is being played.
The Resident Electoral
Commissioner, REC, in Imo
State is playing a script and
the script is so funny, it is
so cruel and crude actually
and they are executing it
in a funny way.
“I understand that people
are beginning to fight a war
of the future now when we
are not even yet there and
I am surprised that INEC
is being used as an
instrument for those who
find it politically difficult to
achieve what they want to
do. The idea is, do not give
Rochas a certificate; you
must slow him down until
after they have elected the
presiding officers, then you
can let him come in, so that
he does not become
anything and make sure
that his candidate for
governor does not win and
then make sure that he is
crippled politically before
2023. That is what is
happening and it is very
childish."
We’re vindicated by
Uzodinma's loss
—Okorocha
In a related development
yesterday, Okorocha said
his government has been
vindicated by the defeat of
APC governorship
candidate in the state,
Senator Hope Uzodinma,
whom he claimed was
favoured by national
chairman of APC, Adams
Oshiomhole instead of his
preferred candidate, Uche
Nwosu.
According to Okorocha,
“We have been vindicated
over our repeated claim that
Chief Hope Uzodinma has
remained a member of the
People’s Democratic Party,
PDP, both in spirit and in
body and that, it was not
only wrong but totally
unacceptable for
Oshiomhole to have
handed over the
governorship ticket of the
party in the state to him, no
matter the deal.
“We had maintained that
Uzodinma was just a mole
in the APC. Today, the
governorship election in
the state and its outcome
have obviously vindicated
us. Aside, Chief Uzodinma
worked for the PDP in the
Presidential/National
Assembly elections and also
in the governorship/House
of Assembly elections. He
was one of the first set of
people to celebrate with the
PDP candidate, Chief
Emeka Ihedioha the
moment he was announced
the winner of the election."
Shun transactions
with Imo
govt,Ihedioha
warns banks
Meanwhile, Imo State
Governor-elect, Mr Emeka
Ihedioha has advised
financial institutions to stop
new transactions with the
state government or do so
at their own peril.
Ihedioha, who spoke at a
media interaction in Owerri
yesterday said new
transactions would increase
chances of illegal activities
and jeopardise the financial
stability of the state.
He said his duty and
responsibility would be to
ensure that citizens and
residents of the state
remained united and work
together for the common
good of the state.
The governor-elect
commended other
contestants in the election
for their “sportsmanship”
and urged them to partner
his administration to
“restore the dignity of the
state”.
He described his success
at the poll as a “new path
to progress which would
signal an end to impunity
and brazenness" in the
state.
Ihedioha promised to
ensure that the citizens
were united for a common
purpose and shun
divisiveness.
Dedicating his success to
the “common men,” he
commended the people for
buying into his vision of
realising a dream state and
promised to work hard to
justify their faith in him.
He also commended the
Independent National
Electoral Commission,
INEC and security
agencies for their roles in
ensuring that the election
was credible.
He went on to outline
plans to set up a transition
committee to liaise with the
outgoing government to
ensure a smooth transition
and chart a way forward for
the state.
He also promised to work
out programmes, which
would engage the youth as
a way to end drug abuse
and curb vices, starting with
the rehabilitation of the four
technical colleges in the
state.
Time of brazenness
in Imo, has gone
—Ihedioha
The Imo state governorelect,
Emeka Ihedioha,
yesterday said that the era
of brazenness in
governance has come to an
end in Imo state.
He also said that, plans
have been concluded to set
up a transition team to liase
with the outgoing
government of Rochas
Okorocha, and that the
transition team would come
up with an action plan, for
infrastructure and human
development.
Ihedioha made this
statement while briefing
newsmen in Owerri, on
how he intended to address
what he called “bad
governance” in Imo State.
He also warned members
of the public to be wary of
doing business with the
outgoing government.
On his plans to develop
Imo, he said: “We will run
an all-inclusive
government and not a
government of exclusion.
Ours will be a government
that will promote the unity
of the state, rather than
accentuate the fissures that
have characterised our
relationship with each
other in recent times. As the
popular saying goes, let
us not listen to things that
will divide us, let us rather
listen to things that will
unite us, for united we
stand, divided we fall.
“We shall run an open,
transparent and
accountable government
with due process as its
hallmark. I believe strongly
that those in positions of
authority must render
account of their
stewardship to the people."