18042019 - PRESIDENTIAL TUSSLE:I always beat you in every election, Buhari tells Atiku

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40—Vanguard, THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 Stolen mandates, matters miscellaneous NOBODY can beat Nigerian politicians to the game of mischief. When it comes to that, they are at their creative best. I have had a good laugh since the beginning of what seems to be the conclusion of the first phase of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s otherwise inconclusive elections. First phase because elections in Nigeria, even after the mayhem and outright banditry, still remain inconclusive until the courts make the final pronouncements. And almost every single poll is challenged in court. That is Nigeria’s homegrown democracy. So, the voters exercise their civic duty but the votes most times are neither counted nor count. Perhaps, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, dictator, Joseph Stalin, had our beloved country in mind when he uttered the quip: “Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything”. This malevolent idea was not original to him because in his 1922 novel, Uncle Henry, George Creel, an investigative journalist, writer and politician who served as the head of the U.S. Committee on Public Information, a propaganda organisation created by President Woodrow Wilson during World War I, wrote: “There’s more to an election than mere voting, my boy, for as an eminent American once said: ‘I care not who casts the votes of a nation if they’ll let me make the count.’” Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the APC, with INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, as their chief enforcer, have taken the country to the next level of electoral comedy. The APC has reduced elections in Nigeria to a farce. But why am I having a good laugh? Nigerian politicians have upped the ante of clowning. They are court jesters or how else does one explain the strident cries of stolen mandates even by those who lost elections in their families and wards? In fact, the 2019 elections can aptly be titled ‘stolen mandates polls’. Everybody’s mandate has Who did Emeka Ihedioha, the PDP candidate who won the Imo State governorship election steal the mandate from – Uzodinma, Nwosu or Okorocha? been stolen by everyone. Have we become a country of mandate-robbers? Everyone is a suspect. Even President Muhammadu Buhari is crying foul. Nigeria has become one huge wailing orchestra. While some of these claims, at least on face value, have merit, most are spurious. For instance, when the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, says: “I have just inaugurated my legal team and charged them with the responsibility of ensuring that our stolen mandate is retrieved,” some Nigerians can reasonably say, well …! He came second in the presidential election with 11,262,978 votes against Buhari’s15,191,847 votes. But not so when the presidential candidate of the Youth Progressive Party, YPP, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, claims that his party’s votes were “stolen, suppressed and diverted”. But it even gets more ridiculous, if not bizarre, when Senator Godswill Akpabio’s paroxysm is thrown into the mix. INEC declared Christopher Ekpenyong of the PDP winner of the Akwa Ibom North West senatorial election with 118,215 against Akpabio’s 83,158 votes. Akpabio, former governor of the state and incumbent senator, would hear none of that. “Incontrovertible result sheets from the INEC office in Uyo, showed different figures that I secured 138,256 votes as against Ekpenyong’s 123,843 votes,” he claimed. His media aide, Anietie Ekong, amplified the claim: “We are not satisfied with the results and outcome of that election. That is why the former governor and the party approached the election petitions tribunal to ventilate their grievances as well as reclaim their stolen mandate.” Akpabio himself became more comical with his claim that: “My mandate is solid and waiting for me. You know that I cannot fail election, I cannot fail. Do you expect me to fail? Won’t you love me to be your senator? I can’t fail.” Meanwhile the man whose vaunted mandate was stolen lost eight out of the ten local governments in the senatorial zone. Of course, his constituents don’t expect him to fail. They failed him, a fact the Presidency did not appreciate when it took Akpabio’s claim from the prism of ridiculous to the absurd. I laughed heartily when Buhari vowed he would reclaim APC’s stolen mandate in the state. “What happened on February 23 was robbery. The votes of the people were stolen, but we are not deterred. We are going to make sure that everything that was stolen … would be restored,” Buhari said through his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo. APC’s governorship candidate in the state, Nsima Ekere, latched onto the rope of deceit thrown at the sinking political ship, assuring supporters of victory. Yet, in the election, APC lost the entire 10 National Assembly seats and the presidential election to boot. The PDP must be damn good in their alleged trade of mandate robbery to pull off that feat under the Buhari presidency. The PDP in turn accused the Vice President and his party of living in a fool’s paradise. In Delta State, the APC governorship candidate, Great Ogboru, claimed his mandate was stolen by the incumbent governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, and promised to reclaim same. “I promised you a few weeks ago that we shall be in the proper arena to address the issues,” he told his supporters at a press conference. “We have since the past few days filed our petitions to challenge the illegalities committed by the PDP and its leaders in Delta State on March 9, 2019, and we believe that with God on our side, that situation will surely be reversed.” The God of Nigerian politicians is long-suffering indeed. Meanwhile, the courts have declared that Ogboru was not even qualified to fly the APC flag. So, his candidacy was stolen. Poetic justice! But the prize for the most ridiculous claim deservedly belongs to Biokpomabo Awara, the Rivers State African Action Congress, AAC, governorship candidate. “I want Rivers people, especially my teeming supporters, who are being pained by what they are seeing, to keep hope alive. Victory is certain. We are going to bring back the stolen mandate,” Awara said after INEC finally announced the result of the governorship poll. Many people are still scratching their heads, trying to figure out what he was talking about. The incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike, won the poll with 886,264 votes against Awara’s 173,859 votes. The margin was 712,405 votes. But Awara is assuring his people: “We are going to reclaim the stolen mandate … I want Rivers people, especially my teeming supporters, who are being pained by what they are seeing, to keep hope alive. Victory is certain. We are going to bring back the stolen mandate.” In Imo State, it is the same song of lamentation. Hope Uzodinma of the APC and Action Alliance’s Uche Nwosu, are both claiming their mandates were stolen. While Uzodinma is accusing Governor Rochas Okorocha for the grand theft, Nwosu, Okorocha’s son-in-law, is pointing fingers of blame at Uzodinma as the archetypal mandate robber. Firing back at Okorocha’s taunt that the APC failed in Imo because it fielded Uzodinma, the APC candidate said: “I will reclaim my mandate which Okorocha and Ihedioha stole … and then I will have something to tell Okorocha.” Not wanting to be outdone, Nwosu is also throwing tantrums. “As far as I am concerned, this is a stolen mandate and I will challenge it at the tribunal. I have confidence that the judiciary will do the right thing,” he said. So, who did Emeka Ihedioha, the PDP candidate who won the Imo State governorship election steal the mandate from – Uzodinma, Nwosu or Okorocha? With Nigerian politicians, answers to such questions blow in the wind. Electoral comedy This was a sentiment amplified by former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza when he quipped hubristically after one of his kangaroo elections that: “Indeed, you won the elections, but I won the count.” So, the Nigerian military in organising the 1999 elections took the admonition to heart. President Olusegun Obasanjo upped the ante of electoral malfeasance and President
Vanguard, THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 — 41 vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES 018773962, 08052867058 RIVERS NYSC—Mr George Nweke, Permanent Secretay, Special Duties, Rivers SSG's Office and Mr Chinwendu Chukwu, Rivers State NYSC Coordinator inspecting Guard of Honour mounted by corps members at the Closing Ceremony of Orientation Course for Batch A members deployed to Rivers State held at the State's NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Nonwa/Gbam, Tai Local Government Area, yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke. Subsidy Removal: We’re yet to find formula that works — Finance Minister •FEC okays $247.3m foreign loan for electrification By Johnbosco Agbakwuru Aof BUJA—MINISTER Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, yesterday, said that Nigeria has not found a formula that works, hence, it would not contemplate to exit the subsidy regime. This came as the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved $247.3 million loan facility from the African Development Bank, AfDB and French Government On subsidy, she said: “We have not been able to develop an effective formula that will replace the current subsidy regime. Until we find a formula that will work for Nigeria, we will not contemplate to remove subsidy. “As you know what works in Ghana and other countries, may not work here.” The Minister also explained the difference Naira appreciates to N359/$ in parallel market By Babajide Komolafe between under recovery and subsidy, stressing that under subsidy regime, money was paid directly to Independent Petroleum Marketers for importation of fuels, while on under recovery, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is the sole importer of petroleum products. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said that FEC approved the bill for the establishment of a Nigeria Army University in BIU, Borno State. “You will recall the council in April 2018 approved the establishment of the university. The bill will be forwarded to the National Assembly for legislation.” Zainab Ahmed who briefed State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu The naira yesterday appreciated to N359 per dollar in the parallel market thus reversing the depreciation suffered on Tuesday According to naijabdcs.com, the live exchange rate platform of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators (ABCON), the parallel market exchange rate dropped to N359 per dollar yesterday from N360 per dollar on Tuesday, translating to one naira appreciation of the naira. However, the naira depreciated by 19 kobo in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for the I&E window rose to N 360.42 per dollar yesterday from N360.23 per dollar on Tuesday, translating to 19 kobo depreciation for the naira. Buhari at the Council, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said, “Council approved three memos for Ministry of Finance. First, it approved $150 million loan facility from the AfDB and $50 million loan from African Grow Together Fund to finance the Nigeria electrification project. I always beat you in every election, Buhari tells Atiku Continues from Page 5 nullified and a fresh election ordered, without first praying for the nullification of election in the states where they claim to have won.” He argued that by virtue of section 137 of the Electoral Act, petitioners cannot question results of election in states where they claim to have won and still retain themselves as petitioners. He further contended that by virtue of section 285(9) of the constitution, some of Atiku’s complaints, including his alleged ineligibility to contest the 2019 presidential election, being preelection matter, can no longer be litigated upon or considered since 14 days had elapsed since the supposed cause of action arose. “Pursuant to section 285(10) of the constitution, this court lacks the jurisdiction to countenance both the complaints and the reliefs altogether,” Buhari insisted. “The project is a nationwide initiative to be implemented by the rural electrification agency. The project aligns with the strategy of Federal Government on electrifying rural community. “The project has four components, first is solar hybrid mini-grid for rural Similarly, he argued that all portions of the petition relating to the use of Card Reader Device are liable to be struck out, same being incompetent and not rooted in any existing legislation. He equally argued that every aspect of the petition grounded on or relating to electronic data purportedly retrieved or downloaded from INEC’s server are also liable to be struck out, “same being incompetent and not rooted in any existing legislation.” “That there were no incidences of corrupt practices at the election of February 23, 20l9, as alleged by the petitioners and that the declaration and return of the respondent President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is valid and in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and all other Laws, Rules, Guidelines and Regulations, regulating the election. “That the election of the economic development. The second is productive appliances equipment for off-grid communities and the third is energising education while the fourth component is institutional capacity building. On the second approval, she said, “The second approval the north Core dorsal regional transmission project. This is a project that is part of the pipeline for the pipeline for the wWest Africa power pull priority projects. The intention is for the creation of regional power pull in the region of West Africa. “The post project aims to connect Nigeria, Niger, Benin Republic, Togo, Burkina Faso with a high voltage 330 kilowatts transmission line, to facilitate energy trade amongst participants. “The project is in the total sum of $640 million out of which each of the four countries involved has a component. Nigeria has the smallest component in this pact which is a total loan of $27.3 million IADE facility, it is a concessionary loan.” FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello said, FEC approved three memos from his ministry for the rehabilitation of 12.6 kilometer of road from the junction Gwagwalada in the Abuja Lokoja A1 express way. “It will pass through Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital upto Bello village at the cost of N1.3 billion, with a completion period of eight months. “Council also approved respondent as the elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is valid and was conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. “Contrary to paragraph 17 of the petition, the respondent states that the petitioners scored a total of 11,262,978 votes, trailing far behind the respondent who scored a total of 15,191,847 votes, with a margin of 3.328.869 votes.” Insisting that he validly earned the number of votes credited to him by INEC, Buhari, said there was “nothing affecting the integrity of the election as there was nothing untoward on the Form ECBDM) and no calculation errors can he revealed by any genuine forensic examination or statistical analysis in respect of the election. “The 1st respondent was duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the election to the office of the President, and shall at the trial, rely on [NBC FORMS 3C8 MA) and ECBE, issued the award of contract for the provision of cultural zone at the cost of N1.3 billion with a completion period of nine months.” $8.7bn for rail project The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi said that his ministry presented two memos and both of them were approved. “The first one was an amendment to an earlier approval. There was an approval for $8.7 billion for Ibadan to Kano to Oshogbo, to Minna to Abuja, Minna to Kaduna, Kaduna to Kano. What we sought for was the variation because the financing authority wanted to find just $5.7 billion. We needed approval to negotiate the reminder as a commercial loan. “Again the President approved that we add Oshogbo to Ekiti as part of the construction. It was not there earlier. That will cost us a total of $500 million. “The next one was approval for N474.4 million for the purchase of 22 number operational vehicles for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority. There will be two Hiace vehicle and 21 others.” He said the unit price for each of the buses was N27.5 million and they were two. “Don’t forget that there is nothing we do that does not go through due process. So they would have checked the actual prices in the market. And the other ones are N28.5 million multiple by 21 vehicles.” by the 1st respondent at the election. “Further to paragraph 1 of the petition, respondent denies that the 1st petitioner voted at all at the election, and further states that 1st petitioner did/does not have any right to be returned an elected at the said election, having been rejected at the polls by the electorate and the respondent having been overwhelmingly voted by the electorate, and returned by the 1st respondent as President in the said election. “The respondent further states that he did not only score majority of lawful votes cast at the election into the office of President of Nigeria at the election of February 23, 2019, convincingly, but also had/has the requisite constitutional spread of one-quarter of the total number of votes cast in more than twothirds of the States of the Federation,” President Buhari argued in the objection he filed through his team of lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN.
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18042019 - PRESIDENTIAL TUSSLE:I always beat you in every election, Buhari tells Atiku

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