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

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews
Vanguard, FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019 — 5
POCKET CARTOON
CERTIFICATES OF RETURN—From left: INEC National commissioners, Hajiya Amina Zakari, Malam
Mohammed Haruna, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and another
National Commissioner, Dr Mustapha Lecky, during the presentation of Certificates of Return to elected
members of the National Assembly, in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN.
INEC kicks as court stops
make-up polls in Adamawa
•Court order cannot stop election – REC
•FG, APC plotting to use military to win Sokoto – PDP
•PDP, APGA reject gov results as hoodlums destroy property in Nasarawa
By Soni Daniel,
Clifford Ndujihe,
Joseph Erunke,
Umar Yusuf & David
Odama
NINE days to the
supplementary
governorship
election in six states, a
Yola High Court,
yesterday, stopped the
Independent National
Electoral Commission,
INEC, from conducting
the make-up poll in
Adamawa, with the
electoral umpire saying
the court could not halt
the exercise.
This happened on a
day that the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
alleged that the Federal
Government and the All
Progressives Congress,
APC, were plotting to
use the military to
manipulate the March
supplementary
governorship election in
Sokoto. The party also
boasted that it will win
the re-run polls inspite of
APC's antics.
Apart from Adamawa
and
Sokoto,
supplementary
governorship polls will
also be held in Bauchi,
Plateau, Benue and
Kano.
Indeed, the outcome of
the March 9
governorship election is
still raising dust in the
polity. The opposition
PDP and All Progressive
Grand Alliance, APGA,
rejected the outcome of
the poll in Nasarawa as
hoodlums numbering
over 200, yesterday,
went on rampage in Karu
Local Council and
vandalized property
estimated at millions of
Naira. They were
protesting against last
Saturday’s governorship
election results released
by INEC in the state.
Also, the Coalition of
United Political Parties,
CUPP, alleged that the
Presidency and the
ruling APC were plotting
to instigate violence in
Taraba State in order to
declare a state of
emergency.
We won’t respond to
infantile statements –
APC
Contacted on the
allegations of plotting to
rig the polls with the
military or instigate crisis
in Taraba so as declare
emergency rule in the
state because it lost the
governorship election,
APC National Publicity
Secretary, Mallam Lanre
Issa-Onilu, said
elections were over and
the party would not
respond to infantile
statements.
‘’I don’t respond to
PDP’s infantile
statement any more.
Elections are over and
we have very important
things to focus on,’’ he
said.
Court stops
supplementary poll in
Adamawa
The Yola High Court
handed down an order
restraining the INEC
from conducting the
supplementary election
in Adamawa, following a
request to that effect by
Movement for the
Restoration and
Defence of Democracy,
MRDD.
Counsel to the
Adamawa chapter of
MRDD, Mr Mustafa
Shaba, filed the request
over the absence of the
party’s logo on the ballot
paper used for the March
9 inconclusive election.
Delivering the ruling
after going through the
two affidavits in support
of the motion including
that of extreme urgency,
Justice Abdul-Aziz
Waziri, held that the
request has merit.
His words: “After
careful perusal of the a
annexture of the MRDD
1 to 5 alongside written
address of counsel
urging me to grant the
application, I am of the
view that the application
is pregnant with merit
and must be granted. I
hereby grant the
following order.
“The defendant here
in, the INEC is
restrained whether by
themselves, their
executives, servants,
privies, representative
nominees or any other
person or persons from
proceeding with the
supplementary election
Continues on Page 41
By Bose Adelaja, Ebun Sessou, Yinka
Latona,
Chiamaka Uba & Dickson Omobola
Security agencies and 2019 polls (2)
Even as much as I
support adequate
security for the election,
the military is not
supposed to be part of
this.
This country has the
Nigeria Police Force,
NPF, and Nigeria
Security and Civil
Defence Corps, NSCDC.
Involving the military
was not a good thing for
our democracy.
Mr. Adewuyi Muyiwa
Serial entrepreneur
I
strongly disagree
with any reason for
which the military has to
be part of the electoral
process.
The military
intervention was an
unfortunate activity as far
as democratic process is
concerned.
-Ayomide Adebanjo
Secretary
It is not good for
the government to
use military power
during election. This
will undermine the
country’s democracy.
What most states
experienced during the
justconcluded
governorship election,
was not good for us as
a nation.
Mr. Victor Okotie
Fashion Designer
I
support the use of
the military during
the just concluded
elections. The military
and other security
agencies were on the
ground to protect lives
and ballot papers.
All this is for the safety
of the masses. I believe
it is for our own good.
Some political thugs
caused serious crises in
some areas and state.
Mr. Olajide Aderogba.
Engineer
THE level of violence
during elections is
such that necessitates deployment
of soldiers. We
know that the Police are
incapable of maintaining
law and order during the
elections. I am not saying
that the Police lack the
capacity but they have
not been effective in crime
fighting. Therefore, it
would be unwise to handover
the security of the
elections to them alone.
Mr. Chukwuma Tony,
Mechanic
G OVERNMENT
agencies need to
be reminded that the life
span of any administration
is four years. The
agencies will remain so
long as Nigeria exists.
So, the culture of promoting
the selfish interest of
any government in power,
is anti-people and
anti development. They
should try to resist the
pressure to abandon neutrality
for
partisanship.Mr. Emmanuel
Otobo, Businessman