Politics
INEC frowns at political parties over acrimonious, parallel primaries
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday frowned at various infractions committed by political parties ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
The Edo State governorship election is scheduled to be held on September 21, 2024, while the Ondo State governorship election will be held on November 16 2024.
The representative of Edo Central Senatorial District, Senator Monday Okpebholo, was declared the winner of the Edo State All Progressives Congress governorship primary election.
Also, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata, won the governorship primary of the Edo State Labour Party as the candidate for the party in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
ROUNDTABLE:N35,000 Wage Award: 30 States Default, Labour Fumes, Pensioners Threaten Protest0.00 / 0.00
3
Asue Ighodalo emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for the upcoming Edo poll.
The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, in the first regular quarterly consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja, noted that infractions such as acrimonious primaries, and the emergence of multiple candidates among others lead to ‘unnecessary’ litigation among party members.
Yakubu urged political parties to adhere strictly to its proposed dates and modes of primaries.
He said, “I urge political parties to adhere strictly to your proposed dates and modes of primaries. Frequent changes as we witnessed recently during the Edo primaries are not only disruptive but costly.
“The commission cannot mobilise, demobilise and remobilise our officials for the monitoring of party primaries at the convenience of political parties. Parties should stick to their proposed dates and modes of primaries for certainty and optimal deployment of resources.
“Similarly, political parties should avoid acrimonious primaries. Increasingly, the conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates is a frequent occurrence. So too is the tendency to grant waivers to candidates who were a few days earlier card-carrying members of other political parties and nominating such persons to the commission as their candidates for election.
“Some of these infractions lead to unnecessary litigation among party members in which the commission is always joined as a party. The legal fees and cost of producing Certified True Copies of documents can be used more productively in other electoral activities by both the political parties and the commission. We must find a solution to this situation,”
The chairman added that only six parties contesting the Edo governorship poll have uploaded their nominations to the portal while 16 out of 19 parties indicated an interest in running for the Ondo governorship poll, warning that no extension of deadline would be granted.
He noted, “Already, party primaries for the Edo State Governorship election have been concluded. By the timetable and schedule of activities for the election, political parties have 20 days to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to our dedicated portal. We have trained party Liaison Officers and established a Help Desk for political parties. The portal opened on 4th March 2024 and will automatically shut down at 6 pm on Saturday 24th March 2024. Two weeks later, only six parties have uploaded their nominations to the portal.
“We urge you to keep to our schedule of activities and avoid last-minute rush that may undermine your ability to successfully nominate your candidates. There will be no extension of time beyond the deadline already published in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, to enable us to publish the personal particulars of candidates (Form EC9) on 31st March 2024 as required by law.
“For the Ondo State Governorship election, party primaries begin in the next two weeks on April 6, 2024 and end three weeks later on April 27, 2024. So far, 16 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.”
Meanwhile, the National Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yusuf Dantalle, noted that the council would be proactive to ensure that the Edo and Ondo States governorship elections meet the expectations of Nigerians and the international community.
“There should be no excuse for poor performance.
“IPAC will constantly engage INEC and major stakeholders to ensure the success of these elections and will be there for mobilisation of voters, sensitisation, and monitoring of polls,” Dantalle said.
He assured all that the council will engage leaders of political parties on strict adherence to internal party democracy in the nomination of candidates for various elective offices,” which will, in turn, reduce pre- elections litigation.”
Politics
PDP to screen Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday as its sole Presidential aspirant For 2027 race
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, has scheduled to screen former president Goodluck Jonathan tomorrow, Tuesday, aMay 19, as the lone presidential candidate of party.
According to a statement from the PDP faction backed by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, Former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, former governor of Plateau State, Jona Jang and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tom Ikimi have been listed among a committee of 14 members to screen Jonathan described as a lone candidate by the party.
Other members of the committee were Chief Olabode George, Babangida Aliyu, Maryam ciroma, Zainab Maina, Josephine Anenin, Dr. Abdul Bulama, Dr. Esther Uduehi, Edo State PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, Dr. Sunday Solarium and Chief Anicho Okoro, who would serve as administrative secretary of the committee.
Last week, the national Publicity Secretary of the faction, Ini Ememobong, disclosed that former president Jonathan has successfully registered as a member of the party in the fresh digital registration exercise directed by INEC.
The PDP faction also announced that it was set to screen 748 house of representatives aspirants, 198 senatorial aspirants, and 112 governorship aspirants.
The screening committee would screen 2122 states houses of assembly aspirants. The exercise will commence tomorrow, Tuesday in different states.
According to the statement, the screening exercise would take place nationwide on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
The statement said the Interim National Working Committee (iNWC) has also released the names of members to serve on the Screening Committees and Screening Appeal Panels.
It added that the publication of the screening details “is in accordance with the party’s guidelines and timetable for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.”
Politics
Oshiomhole wins Edo APC senatorial primaries unopposed
A former governor and incumbent Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, along with his counterpart Senator Joe Ikpea, sailed through the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary in Edo unopposed, and securing their tickets without a single vote cast against them.
Also Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama emerged the winner in the APC primary for the Edo South senatorial district.
Ogbeide-Ihama won in the seven local government areas of Edo South in the results announced by the Chairman of APC National Assembly Primary Election, Muhammed Ajana at the Urokpota Hall, Benin.
He polled 27,154 votes while his opponents, Senator Neda Imasuen, got 13,580, and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu got 6785.
The elections were hitch-free in Edo North and Edo Central, where there was no contest against the incumbents, Senators Oshiomhole of Edo North and Ikpea of Edo Central, respectively.
Ajana at the Urokpota Hall said the collation arose from votes cast in the seven local government areas made up of 77 wards where elections were conducted by members of the committee.
He said, “There are seven local governments that make up the Edo South Senatorial District. We have heard from the Returning officers from the seven local government areas. From the collation, the cumulative result we have for Edo South Senatorial District is this; Ogbeide-Ihama with 27,154 votes, Imasuen with 13,580 votes and Ize-Iyamu with 6, 785.
“This is the total reflection of what has transpired from the ward level to the local government and the Edo South senatorial district collation centre. With this we await further directives from the National Secretariat, we have done our best by collating the results which is our mandate, to collate the results and send them to the National Secretariat.”
However, it was gathered that Ize-Iyamu emerged as the APC candidate for Edo South Senatorial race. He claimed to have clinched the party’s ticket after defeating Ogbeide-Ihama and Imasuen.
It was claimed that the Chief Returning Officer, Abubakar Muhammad Kabiru, officially declared Ize-Iyamu the winner after securing the highest number of votes cast.
On his part, the senator representing the district condemned the exercise describing it as a sham allegedly designed to favour a preferred aspirant.
Imasuen spoke while reacting to events at his polling unit in Umagbae North Ward 5, Urhokuosa where he said he was denied the opportunity to vote following what he described as a chaotic and manipulated process.
The lawmaker accused leaders of the party of openly adopting a preferred candidate ahead of the exercise and intimidating members into supporting that aspirant.
He said, “There is nothing satisfactory about this sham of election they did today and it is very unfortunate because as a loyal party member, I expected something better than this.”
He said the warning signs emerged days before the primary when some ward chairmen allegedly informed him that they had been directed not to receive him during consultations.
Imasuen claimed that some ward leaders openly told him the party had already adopted a preferred aspirant, identified as Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, making further consultations unnecessary.
Politics
Ajuloopin Suffers Setback as Home Ward Rejects Third Term Return Bid in Kwara APC Primary
The re-election bid of the member representing Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency, Hon. Raheem Tunji Olawuyi, popularly known as Ajuloopin, suffered a major setback on Friday after party members in his home ward, Omu-Aran Ward 1, boycotted the All Progressives Congress APC House of Representatives primary.
According to party stakeholders and observers present at the exercise, no valid election took place in the ward after members refused to participate in protest against what they described as the lawmaker’s poor performance after three consecutive terms in the House of Representatives.
Sources in the ward said efforts by some political figures and loyalists to persuade members to back Ajuloopin’s ambition failed, with party faithful insisting they would not endorse what they termed an attempt to impose his candidacy again.
The boycott led to a breakdown of the electoral process in Omu-Aran Ward 1, with many members staying away from the polls entirely. Stakeholders have called on the APC Electoral Committee to disregard any result purportedly presented from the ward, arguing that no credible primary was conducted there.
Political observers in the constituency described the development as a significant blow to Ajuloopin, noting that the rejection came from his own ward and among constituents most familiar with his record.
Preliminary reports from other parts of Irepodun, Isin and Oke-Ero local government areas, where voting proceeded, also indicated weak support for the incumbent. Many party members were said to have voted for alternative aspirants.
APC stakeholders have urged the party leadership to review reports from affected wards and accept only authentic and verifiable results to preserve the credibility of the primaries. They stressed that internal democracy was critical to the party’s prospects in the constituency and warned against imposing unpopular candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
With tension rising across the federal constituency, party faithful said the leadership must listen to grassroots members and allow delegates and supporters to determine the outcome of the primaries.
-
Business2 years ago
US court acquits Air Peace boss, slams Mayfield $4000 fine
-
Trending2 years agoNYA demands release of ‘abducted’ Imo chairman, preaches good governance
-
Politics2 years agoMexico’s new president causes concern just weeks before the US elections
-
Politics2 years agoPutin invites 20 world leaders
-
Politics2 years agoRussia bans imports of agro-products from Kazakhstan after refusal to join BRICS
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Bobrisky falls ill in police custody, rushed to hospital
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Bobrisky transferred from Immigration to FCID, spends night behind bars
-
Education2 years ago
GOVERNOR FUBARA APPOINTS COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR KEN SARO-WIWA POLYTECHNIC BORI
