Fayose praises Buhari, urges Nigerians to accept election results

Fayose praises Buhari, urges Nigerians to accept election results
March 31, 2015Press Release
A

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has urged Nigerians to accept the outcome of Saturday’s presidential election in good faith, saying; “the election result is the will of God and Nigerians, and all lovers of peace, progress and development of Nigeria must accept it”.
Mr. Fayose, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, hailed the resilience and commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammadu Buhari.
The governor said the election results should not been seen as victory or loss for any political party, adding that, “To me, Nigerians and democracy won.”
He praised Nigerians for believing in the democratic process, adding that “by this election, Nigerians have shown that Democracy has come to stay in the country”.
The governor said, “I salute Nigerians, especially the great people of Ekiti State.
“I salute President Jonathan for laying the most solid foundation for democracy in Nigeria. And I salute Major General Buhari for being a resilience and dogged fighter.
“I urge Nigerians, irrespective of their ethic, religious and political affiliation to respect the outcome of the election in the interest of peace, progress and development of the country.
“Nigeria as a country is greater than any individual or group and it is my plea that no one should do anything to rock the boat of peace in the country.”
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How I used to beat my wife By Wale Ojo Lanre

How I used to beat my wife By Wale Ojo Lanre

beater but i am
and I am not ashamed of this
I am not you
You are not me
So I beat her silly.
I performed all the traditions and fulfilled all the rites of making her mine
I gave out money to buy her only for the family to return the money to my parent
telling us "we are not selling our daughter "
But can they return the prostrations and ,,,,
So I have her as my own and I have the legal and traditional right to tame her in my own way
And don't blame me
it is not inherited for my father till his death Akin never raised his hand against my mum
How can ? He was not fit to raise his hand against Mopelola Aduke ( with humility)
But that was his own meat and pie
For me , I was trained to beat my wife
Yes , in my secondary School
at Ansar -Ud - Denn Grammar School , Ikare Akoko, Ondo state
though a muslim school but , the motto is "towards religious harmony "
the school in 1978 - 82 ensured that we normally listened to inspirational messages from out tutors .
There was this man , our Vice Principal then , I cannot remember his name .a native of Ilorin . He always used Abraham Lincoln as a reference point
But one day , he told us about the virtue in tolerance , patience and how to beat ones wife .
His tale
" There was this quarrelsome woman who is good at nagging and a trouble maker par excellence .
She has a carefree husband who sometimes engaged in shouting bout a with the wife and whenever he engaged her , the woman is always getting higher in her abusive and tormenting tendencies .
This day , the lady was on her usual act , bullying and cursing the husband.
And she noticed very strange though that this man refused to utter a word .
The lady hots up her torment , thundering like a Shango , the man instead of the usual shouting bout was looking at her ferociously angry and almost deranged wife.
Angered at this nonchalant attitude of her husband , the wife entered the kitchen and brought a bowl of water and drenched the husband !
The husband remained unmoved , looked at the wife and said "baby thank you . I know after thunder there must be rain . Thank you for this rain which banished the heat off me . God bless you ""
The wife was shocked. She could not believe what is going on .
She .knelt down , burst into tears and asked the husband for forgiveness
Since that day , PEACE and BLISS entered their matrimonial home "
All students of AUD Grammar School, Ikare ( 1978 -82 set ) will never forget this man who always used Abraham Lincoln as an example
Thus I learnt the act of how to beat my wife silly .
And it has worked and still working - SILENCE is It !
Kudos to Charlie Boy too for bringing up this issue
You can see I am a professional wife beater
I love this ! 

Nigeria awaits tense presidential poll results  

Published on March 30, 2015 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

Old man casting his vote
Photo: Idowu Ogunleye

Nigerians on Monday awaited the first results of a closely fought general election, despite protests over the conduct of the vote and calls for calm given fears of a repeat of post-poll violence.

The presidential election pitting President Goodluck Jonathan against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari is the closest in Nigeria’s history, and first to present a credible opposition challenge.

International election observers gave broadly positive reactions to the conduct of the vote, despite late delivery of election materials and technical glitches with new voter authentication devices.

But Nigeria’s Transition Monitoring Group, which had observers across the country, said: “These issues did not systematically disadvantage any candidate or party.”

All eyes now will be on the results, which are expected from 1100 GMT, with violence typically flaring after the winning candidate is announced.

Kaduna, one of the worst-affected four years ago when some 1,000 people were killed in clashes, was said to be calm.

But some 2,000 women protesting against the conduct of elections were teargassed as they tried to converge on the local electoral commission offices in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt.

Jonathan’s PDP has been in power since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 but is being pushed to the wire by Buhari, from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The prospect of a democratic transfer of power — plus economic woes caused by the slump in global oil prices, concerns about corruption and fears about insecurity — energised the vote.

The winning presidential candidate needs the most votes and at least 25 percent support in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja to avoid a run-off.

– Vote extended –

Voting was pushed into an unscheduled second day Sunday after failures in controversial new technology designed to read biometric identity cards to combat electoral fraud.

Among those whose card did not work was the president himself.

But election chief Attahiru Jega said his commission was confident its objective of holding a “free, fair, credible and peaceful” election was “on course”.

“We appeal to all Nigerians to remain peaceful as they await the return of these results,” he told a news conference on Sunday.

Jega maintained only 0.25 percent of the 150,000 card readers used nationwide experienced problems but there were other issues, including the late or non-arrival of officials and materials.

Some 348 polling stations had to open again on Sunday to complete the vote, for which 68.8 million people are registered out of Nigeria’s population of 173 million.

The PDP and the APC on Sunday traded allegations of rigging and other irregularities, which raises the possibility of a legal challenge to the results.

Thousands of APC supporters flooded the streets of Port Harcourt on Sunday, alleging irregularities by the PDP.

A local office of the Independent National Electoral Commission was burnt down in Rivers state, of which Port Harcourt is the capital, and protesters called for the vote to be re-run.

AFP reporters said the air outside the INEC offices was thick with the smell and taste of teargas after the women were dispersed on Monday.

APC women’s leader Victoria Nyeche said: “What happened today was unprecedented… All we want is a fresh election because what happened on Saturday was a fraud.”

Political parties have been urged to take any disputes to court rather than the street.

– Deadly attacks –

Boko Haram has dominated the campaign, with military operations against the Islamists forcing a six-week delay to the scheduled February 14 election.

On Sunday, residents and a military source said soldiers supported by two fighter jets intercepted the militants at Dungulbe village, seven kilometres (four miles) from Bauchi city in the northeast.

A spokesman for the Bauchi state governor said an indefinite, round-the-clock curfew had been imposed on three areas because of the fighting.

The militants were believed to have come through the town of Alkaleri, 60 kilometres away, where there was a dawn raid on Saturday.

Bauchi police spokesman Haruna Mohammed confirmed that polling stations in nearby Kirfi were attacked on Sunday and election materials were destroyed.

A series of suspected attacks on polling stations in neighbouring Gombe state on Saturday killed at least seven.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had vowed to disrupt the election, calling it “un-Islamic”.

We’re confident of victory – Fani-Kayode  

Published on March 30, 2015 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

Femi Fani-Kayode

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation said it would accept the announcement of only results of Saturday’s elections which reflected the will of Nigerians.

Director of Media and Publicity of the organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, stated this at a news conference on Monday in Abuja.

He said that any attempt to manipulate figures or to rig the PDP out, from any quarter, would be “firmly resisted”.

He claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan, the PDP`s presidential candidate in the election was ahead in available results of the polls with at least two million votes.

This, he said, was according to the figures made available to the party by its polling agents across the country.

“We have our own situation room and we have collated all our figures from the various polling booths, wards, local government areas and states in the Federation.

“In spite of the propaganda of the opposition, we are confident of victory,” Fani-Kayode said.

Boko Haram is unable to disrupt elections – UN  

Published on March 30, 2015 by pmnews   ·   1 Comment

Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas

The of Head of the UN West Africa Office, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, says Boko Haram insurgents were unable to disrupt the electoral process in Nigeria, following the regional forces’ involvement in Nigeria.

Briefing the UN Security Council via videoconference on Monday in New York, he said that the group’s control had been reduced to only a few areas.

However, he said its violence and brutality had intensified, including through the use of children as suicide bombers and human shields and that its reported allegiance to the Islamic State showed that its agenda went well beyond Nigeria.

In light of recent elections in Nigeria, which the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) reported as having been free and transparent, he said, the legitimacy of the next government would be essential for the country’s long-term stability.

He expressed the hope that government would remain engaged in the fight against Boko Haram.

As for the role of the international community, he said it should play an important part in addressing the root causes of terrorism in a way that put respect for human life and dignity first.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa, said it was clear that a military approach alone would not suffice to contain the threat.

Although several key towns had been recaptured, as well as Boko Haram’s headquarters, and the terrorist group held only a few areas, he said its attacks had intensified.

A recent report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), he noted, showed that Boko Haram had committed numerous human rights abuses, including abductions, looting and slaughtering of communities.

Following an attack in February, he said, reports had shown that the armed group was forcibly recruiting boys and men.

Chambas said of particular concern were children, who had been targeted for abduction and forced recruitment, with reports of young people being used as suicide bombers.

In response to those and other concerns, he said, the United Nations was in the process of scaling up its presence and operations in Niger, Cameroon and the Lake Chad Basin region.

The Special Representative said a hands-on approach was needed, as well as resources for implementation.

He noted that the United Nations would support regional efforts, including those led by the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

He, however, said that ”proceeding cautiously is essential”.

Chambas said counter-terrorist operations that were perceived by affected populations as being brutal would violate the norms represented by the United Nations.

He said that a joint task force must abide by the rule of law and international standards, which was an effective strategy to ensure that communities supported the authorities fighting Boko Haram instead of fostering the insurgents.

Also in her briefing to the Council, Ms Kyung-Wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, on behalf of Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the violent conflict in north-eastern Nigeria had forcibly displaced at least 1.5 million people in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

Kyung-Wha added that as many as three million people in northern Nigeria would not be able to meet their basic food needs after July 2015 unless they received well-targeted humanitarian assistance.

In addition to insecurity, she said, lack of donor support was constraining the expansion of the humanitarian footprint.

She said the number of people fleeing attacks was growing across borders in the Lake Chad Basin region.

Kyung-Wha said the governments of Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon had requested international aid to respond to immediate needs, including protection, food, water and shelter.

Food, she said, was becoming increasingly scarce and costly, with almost one quarter of children in the Diffa region between six and 23 months of age, were suffering from acute malnutrition and 4.6 million in north-east Nigeria faced food insecurity.

She said an overwhelming number of internally displaced persons resided in host communities in “camp-like” conditions, clustered around schools, churches and mosques.

Welcoming the regional political commitment to tackle the ongoing violence, she underscored the importance of a limited focus by the Multi-National Joint Task Force to create conducive security conditions and avoid civilian casualties.

She asked council members to ensure that operations remained distinct from civilian-led humanitarian efforts, to safeguard the neutrality of those providing ai

Authentic poll result ! Presidential Poll: INEC announces results from 18 states, FCT

Presidential Poll: INEC announces results from 18 states, FCT  

Published on March 31, 2015 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

Prof. Attahiru Jega, INEC Chairman

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced results of Saturday’s Presidential Election in 10 more states to bring the total number of states to 18 states and the FCT.

The states are Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kwara, Kaduna, Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Plateau and Imo.

The results were announced by the returning officers of the states at the National Collation Centre in Abuja.

NAN recalls that INEC had earlier announced results of Ekiti, Enugu, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Nasarawa and the FCT.

In Kano, the ruling PDP polled 215, 779 votes while the main opposition party, APC, scored 1,903,999 out of a total of 2,128,821 valid votes cast.

According to the results, which were announced by the Collation Officer, Prof. Hamisu Muhammad, the other 12 parties that took part in the election shared the remaining votes.

Hamisu said that a total of 43,626 votes were void in the state.

In Jigawa, the PDP garnered 142,904 votes against APC’s 885,988 out of a total of 1,037,564 valid votes.

The Collation Officer, Prof. James Ayatse, said that a total of 34,325 votes were rejected.

The PDP polled 98,937 out of a total of 1,449,426 votes cast in Katsina while the APC secured 1,345,441 votes.

According to the Collation Officer, Prof. Attahiru Aminu, 32,288 votes were rejected out of the 1,481,714 votes cast in the state.

In Kwara, the PDP scored 132,602 votes while the APC polled 302,146 out of a total of 461,401 votes cast.

The Collation Officer, Prof. Musbau Akanji, said that 21,321 votes were rejected.

In Kaduna State, the PDP secured 484,085 votes as against APC’s 1,127,760 out of a total of 1,650,201 votes cast in the state.

Announcing the result, the Collation Officer, Prof. Ja’afar Kaura, said a total of 928,606 votes were cast in the state out of which 32,719 were void.

However, there were reported cases of cancellation and non-holding of elections in seven local government areas, including Kudan, Igabi, Zangon-Kataf and Kagarko.

The total numbers of voters affected in the seven local governments were 27,482.

Of the total of 688,584 valid votes cast in Anambra, the PDP polled 660,762 while the APC secured 17,926.

The Collation Officer for the state, Prof. Chigozie Asiabaka, gave the number of rejected votes as 14,825 out of a total of 703,409 votes cast.

In Abia, PDP and the APC polled 368,303 and 13,394 votes respectively out of the total of 391,045 valid votes cast in the election.

Prof. Benjamin Chukwuma , the Collation Officer, said that 10,004 votes were rejected out of the 401,049 cast.

NAN also reports that results from Kogi earlier announced by Prof. Michael Adikwu, but put on hold by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Atahiru Jega was accepted when the second batch of results were presented.

NAN recalls that Adikwu’s report failed to capture the number of voters in the two polling units where the election was cancelled.

He, however, announced that the number of voters in the two polling units affected in Dekina local government area were 9,756 and 1,089.

The results from Kogi showed that the PDP secured 149,987 votes as against the APC’s 264,851.

Announcing the results, Prof. Adikwu, said that 421,328 votes were valid out of a total of 439,287 cast with 17,959 votes voided.

The PDP polled 559,185 out of a total of votes 702,964 cast in Imo, while the APC secured 133,253 votes.

According to the Collation Officer, Prof. Ibidapo Obe, 28,957 votes were rejected out of the 731,921 votes cast in the state.

The Election in 54 polling units in four local government areas with a total number of 30,353 registered voters was cancelled owing to irregularities.

In Plateau, the PDP scored 549,615 votes, while the APC polled 429,140 out of a total of 1,000,692 votes cast.

The Collation Officer, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, said that 1,076,833 votes were rejected.

In Akwa Ibom, the PDP secured 953,304 votes as against APC’s 58,411 out of a total of 1,028,551 votes cast in the state.

Announcing the result, the Collation Officer, Bassey Asuquo, said a total of 1,028,551 votes were cast in the state, adding that none was voided.

President-elect to emerge today –Jega

MARCH 30, 2015 : OUR CORRESPONDENTS 

INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that despite the extension of Saturday’s elections till Sunday in some parts of the country, the results of the presidential poll will be declared on Monday(today).

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, gave the assurance   as some of results from wards, local government areas and states continued to emerge on Sunday.

For instance, results from Osun and Ogun states showed the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, defeating President Goodluck Jonathan.

But in Ekiti State, Jonathan had an easy ride as he beat the APC candidate.

Jega, who gave journalists an update on the conduct of the polls in Abuja, said that as of Sunday evening, results of the elections had only been completely collated in two states, one of which was Ekiti.

He said, “Some people assume that when I said 48 hours( for the release of the results), it starts from the morning the elections commenced. It is 48 hours after elections have ended, like yesterday(Saturday).

“You start counting 48 hours from yesterday (Saturday) when substantial majority of the polling units ended elections.”

The INEC chief expressed satisfaction over the conduct of the   polls, which he said held in a substantial number of polling units across the country, including the troubled North-East zone   where   internally displaced persons   voted in   Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.

“We are pleased that the elections went on smoothly in a substantial number of polling units across the country, including the North-East where the commission was also able to conduct voting for Internally Displaced Persons in the three states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno,” Jega said.

He said that out of more than   150,000 card readers used for the conduct of the polls , only 300   failed, representing   about 0.25 per cent of the total number of machines.

“It is also gratifying to note that the card readers worked well in the majority of polling units, even though there were areas where difficulties experienced necessitated additional guidelines to allow for manual accreditation of voters, as announced yesterday (Saturday),” Jega said.

He stated that manual accreditation was done in some polling units in   Osun, Kebbi, Ekiti, Adamawa, Borno, Jigawa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states.”

Jega said the elections were extended and   concluded on Sunday in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Taraba State has the highest number of 116 polling units where the polls were extended.

Other states where the number of polling units where the elections were extended are Lagos (90), Kebbi (16), Adamawa (25), Niger (six ), Yobe (37), Borno (eight), Jigawa (37), Kano (13) and FCT (two).

He also rejected the claim by the spokesman for the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation,   Femi Fani-Kayode, that his party had won in certain number of states.

Jega, who said Fani-Kayode should be asked the source of his figures, stated that as of the time he was addressing the journalists on Sunday evening, collation had only been concluded in two states. He said that   the results from the two had yet to arrive Abuja in the manner that it could be announced.

The chairman said, “You said somebody in one of the parties said the PDP is winning in 23 states. I don’t know the sources of his information. I know result have not been collated in 23 states.

“May be you should direct the questions to him and let him explain.”

He   advised journalists “to be careful about reporting this kind of information that is being put out there by people who are clearly partisan.”

He also debunked speculation that he was under pressure to declare results of the presidential election inconclusive.

“We are not under any pressure to declare inconclusive elections. In fact, I wonder who will be interested in declaring the election inconclusive. I think candidates will be interested in being declared winners and not to have the election declared inconclusive,” Jega said.

The INEC boss said his office had on Sunday morning received petitions from the APC in Rivers State calling for outright cancellation of the elections   in the state.

He assured the petitioners that the commission would consider all the complaints, including the allegation of presence of some underage voters and substitution of some members of the commission’s ad hoc staff with untrained partisan persons in Rivers and Lagos states.

However, results from Osun State showed that Buhari recorded   victory in 22 out of the 24 Local Government Areas   so far announced by the state INEC. He had 264,734 votes.

Jonathan,who won the remaining LGAs – Ife Central and Ife East – scored 192,288 votes.

The   results were announced in Osogbo by the returning officers for each of the LGAs on Sunday.

Also in Ogun State, the APC presidential candidate defeated Jonathan in 13 out of the 20 LGAs whose results were announced by INEC.

He polled 308, 290 votes while Jonathan scored 207,950 votes.

The APC candidate for the Ogun Central Senatorial District,   Lanre Tejuoso, defeated   PDP’s Abisola Sodipo-Clark, the wife of an Ijaw national leader, Edwin Clark.

Tejuoso scored 115, 197 votes while Sodipo-Clark had 30,036 votes. The sitting senator for Ogun Central and Social Democratic Party’s candidate, Olugbenga Obadara, got 15,124 votes.

Jonathan, however, had it easy in Ekiti State where he polled 176,466 votes from 16 councils in the state. Buhari garnered 120,331 votes.

The result was announced by the state Returning Officer, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, to party officials on Sunday.

It was also a sweet victory for the PDP as it won all the three senatorial and six House of Representatives seats in the state.

Impliedly, by implication two of the APC   senators – Anthony Adeniyi and Olubunmi Adetumbi – who contested the poll   will not join their colleagues in the eight National   Assembly.

Gbenga Olofin, the third APC candidate for Ekiti Central was defeated by Fatimat Raji-Rasaki, wife of a former Lagos State military administrator, Brig.-Gen. Raji Rasaki of the PDP.

Those elected for the House of Representatives seats are Kehinde Agboola, Ayotunde Oladimeji, Thaddeus Aina, Olamide Oni, Akin Awodumila and Segun Adekola.

In Kogi State, Buhari was leading by polling 108,817 votes from six LGAs as against Jonathan’s 84,555 in five LGAs.

The APC candidate also won in Dekina, the LGA of Governor Idris Wada with 18, 819 votes to Jonathan’s 13,885 votes. He also won in Amadu Alli’s LGA of Idah with 10,445 votes to Jonathan’s 6,113.

But there was a mild tension in parts of Imo State on Sunday as armed officials of the Department of State Services, the Police and the Army barred journalists from collation centres in the state.

At the collation centre in Owerri Municipal Council Secretariat, journalists were turned back from the gate by stern looking security operatives who asked them to go back   and wait until the results were announced.

All efforts to reach the Resident Electoral Commissioner, George Ada, were abortive as his telephone was switched off.

US, UK fear interference in election result collation  

Published on March 30, 2015 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

US Secretary of State, John Kerry

United States Secretary of State John Kerry and his British counterpart Philip Hammond Monday voiced fears over possible political interference in Nigeria’s vote count, as the country awaited the results of weekend elections.

“We have seen no evidence of systemic manipulation of the process. But there are disturbing indications that the collation process — where the votes are finally counted — may be subject to deliberate political interference,” the two diplomats said in a joint statement.

Britain and the United States welcomed “the largely peaceful vote” after it was pushed into a second day Sunday due to failures in new technology designed to read biometric identity cards. The cards were introduced to combat electoral fraud.

Kerry and Hammond warned that any attempt at fraud “would contravene the letter and spirit of the Abuja accord, to which both major parties committed themselves.”

They added that their governments “would be very concerned by any attempts to undermine the independence” of the electoral commission.

Nigeria’s presidential election pitting President Goodluck Jonathan against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari is the closest in Nigeria’s history, and first to present a credible opposition challenge.

Jonathan takes home state, Bayelsa  

Published on March 30, 2015 by pmnews   ·   1 Comment

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan and candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Saturday Presidential election has won majority votes in Bayelsa, his state.

However, the difference between registered and accredited voters in the state showed that 200,000 persons failed to participate in the electoral process.

The results declared by the state’s Collation Officer and Vice-Chancellor, University of Port – Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, showed that Jonathan won in the eight local government areas of the state.

A breakdown of the Presidential results so far released showed that in Kolokuma/Opokuma, PDP scored 20,633 while APC got 402.

In Nembe, PDP, 60,950, APC, 557; Ekeremor, PDP 61,012, APC 374; Yenagoa, PDP 45,439, APC 462.

Also, Jonathan polled 50,754 in Ogbia, his local government area while Buhari was said to have scored only 214 votes.

Statistics revealed that many registered voters in some local government areas did not participate in the elections.

For instance out of the 133,442 registered voters in Yenagoa Local Government Area, only 51,577 showed up for accreditation.

The situations were the same in Kolokuma-Opokuma, Nembe, Ekeremor and Ogbia where 13,785, 29,238, 14,451 and 13,389 persons respectively refused to participate in the exercise.

Results of three remaining local government areas were still being expected.

The results were announced after so much delay attributed to the terrains of the state by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Baritor Kpagih

Curious’ delays of poll results in SS and SE, APC cries out  

Published on March 30, 2015 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

Chief John Oyegun : national chairman of APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the delay in releasing the results of last weekend’s elections in the South-East and the South-South gives room for concern, against the background of the results that are streaming in from other parts of the country.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said apart from Rivers and Akwa Ibom, where everyone knows what the situation is, there has been nothing but silence from the remaining states as far as the results are concerned.

It said many concerned Nigerians have called the party to express their concern over the delay, and to share their concerns on whether something sinister is behind the palpable silence.

”The fact that most of the South-East and the South-South resorted to manual accreditation instead of being patient for the card readers has raised real fears on the possible manipulation of the results. It is common knowledge that manual accreditation makes the voting process more susceptible to rigging and manipulation,” APC said.

The party described as very curious the fact that the card readers largely functioned well in other parts of the country, except in the South-East and the South-South, wondering whether this was a mere coincidence.

”Also, credible reports emanating from most of the South-East and the South-South indicate that APC agents have either been harassed, intimidated or chased away from results collation centres, the same treatment they (APC agents) have been subjected to in Adamawa and
Taraba States.

”Against this background, we are demanding that our agents in all the affected states be given unfettered access to the result collation centres, and that they must also be allowed to scrutinize any result emanating from there for it to be credible,” it said.

APC renewed its earlier warning that no one should circumvent the will of the people for whatever reason and that only the authentic results of the elections will be acceptable to Nigerians.

The party appealed to its concerned members and supporters to be calm and to continue to eschew violence, assuring that in the end, the will of the good people of Nigeria – which they have freely expressed by turning out in large numbers to exercise their franchise – will prevail.