Headlines

Oni vows to challenge outcome, governor-elect seeks truce

Published

2 years ago

June 20, 2022

With the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) made history as the first party in the Southwest state to win a governorship poll back to back, since the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999. Before now, it had been a rotation between the ruling party and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At the end of the exercise, the State Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof Kayode Adebowale, declared Biodun Oyebanji of the APC winner of the election with 187,057 votes, while Chief Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), came a distant second, polling 82,209 votes and Bisi Kolawole, the governorship candidate of the PDP coming third with 67,457 votes.

While Oyebanji trounced his co-contestants in 15 out of 16 councils, Kolawole led only in his Efon council. In fact, Oni was humbled in his Ido/Osi council, where APC got 10,321 and SDP 9,321.

Although many in the state have described the resounding victory as a referendum on Governor Kayode Fayemi’s success in managing the resources of the state and integrating Ekiti into national politics, others attribute it to the outcome of the unresolved crisis in the PDP after its governorship primary that forced Oni and his supporters to quit the party and join SDP, a relatively unknown party in Ekiti.

Besides, some analysts said the monetary inducement of voters played a significant role in determining the result. Though, they acknowledged that all the major political parties engaged in vote-buying but ‘the highest bidder’ laughed last. Indeed, they dismissed the whole process as a “caricature of democracy.”

Unknown to many, the Ekiti election had been won and lost on the day Oni left PDP and the choice of Fayemi to support the aspiration of his former Secretary to the State Government, Oyebanji in his quest to succeed him.

Also for the first time, APC had a landslide victory in Ado Ekiti and Ikere, the two major towns that control over 30 per cent of voters in the state. It was a surprise to many that in Ado Ekiti, the party polled 23,831 votes while PDP got 7,575 and SDP won 15,214 votes. In Ikere, where PDP had been a party to beat, APC trounced it by polling 12,086 votes, SDP 1,943 and PDP 3,789.

For many who thought the election would be a three-horse race, they were disappointed with the sudden cold feet developed by Fayose, who some PDP members said needed to explain the dismal performance of the party at the election. It was strange that PDP was not visible in the state before the election.

Despite the fact that the party did not hold a rally to galvanise support from the electorate, its candidate was also off the radar. And few days to the election, what was expected to be a stiff contest among three parties had become a two-horse race between APC and SDP.

Speaking to The Guardian on how APC got its landslide victory, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Funminiyi Afuye, said: “Ekiti people wanted continuity of the government of Fayemi. Since Fayemi took the oath of office, he has done creditably well and kept faith with its five-pillar development agenda – good governance, agriculture and rural development; social investments, knowledge economy, and infrastructure and industrial development.”

MEANWHILE, Oni has rejected the results of the election, saying the outcome would be challenged in the court. Oni, who spoke through his state collation agent and former Attorney-General of the state, Owoseni Ajayi, noted that the results as declared by INEC did not reflect the true decision of the people, lamenting that the process was marred by financial inducement.

Ajayi, who refused to sign the election results, said, “we are rejecting the results because the election was characterised by violence and intimidation of voters and as a result, we will definitely challenge the outcome in court.”

Also, the Segun Oni Campaign Organisaton, on Sunday, rejected the outcome of Saturday’s election, saying it is unacceptable. Spokesman of the campaign organisation, Mr Moses Jolayemi, accused APC of engaging in vote-buying. He also accused security agencies of compromising during the election.

Besides, he said the SDP candidate will not concede defeat, saying the party will meet to take necessary steps.

Jolayemi said: “The outcome is unacceptable by us as a party because it is a travesty of democracy, it is a rape on democracy and clear daylight robbery, the APC has taken advantage of the peoples’ pathetic state of poverty and that is why you see that the APC refused to campaign. They were not going round doing rallies; we were the ones campaigning because they knew what they wanted to do.

When asked whether the SDP will be approaching the tribunal to seek redress, he said: “The decision will be taken in the next few hours. We are going to meet but the central message here is that this election is rejected. Segun Oni is not accepting the results, he is not conceding and he is not congratulating anybody because this is not an election.”

HOWEVER, the PDP candidate, Bisi Kolawole, has congratulated the governor-elect. Kolawole stated this in a congratulatory message he personally signed and made available to newsmen, yesterday, in Ado Ekiti.
THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has warned INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to prosecute vote-buyers or face legal action.

The body also gave INEC seven days to gather information about reports of vote-buying, undue influence, intimidation, ballot box snatching, and other electoral offences by the three leading political parties in the just-concluded Ekiti governorship election.

In the letter dated June 18, and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Corruption of the ballot box intrudes on the freedom of Nigerian voters to make up their own minds. Vote-buying and other forms of electoral corruption freeze out the less wealthy candidates and parties.

“Wealthy candidates and their sponsors ought not to be allowed to profit from their crimes. We are concerned that impunity for vote-buying and electoral bribery is widely prevalent in Nigeria, as perpetrators are rarely brought to justice.”

According to SERAP, if voting is as important as INEC always claims it is, now is the time to end the buying of democracy by wealthy politicians and their sponsors.

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Africa

Customs hands over illicit drugs worth N117.59m to NDLEA

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

Customs hands over illicit drugs worth N117.59m to NDLEA

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun Area 1 Command, has handed over illicit drugs worth N117.59 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The Comptroller of the command, Mr James Ojo, disclosed this during the handing over of the drugs to Mr Olusegun Adeyeye, the Commander of NDLEA, Idiroko Special Area Command, in Abeokuta, Ogun, on Friday.

Ojo said the customs handed over the seized cannabis and tramadol tablets to the Idiroko Special Command for further investigation in line with the standard operating procedures and inter-agency collaboration.

He said the illicit drugs were seized in various strategic locations between January and November 21, 2024, in Ogun State.

He added that the illicit drugs were abandoned at various locations, including the Abeokuta axis, the Agbawo/Igankoto area of Yewa North Local Government Area, and Imeko Afton axis.

Ojo said that the seizure of the cannabis sativa and tramaling tablets, another brand of tramadol, was made possible through credible intelligence and strategic operations of the customs personnel.

“The successful interception of these dangerous substances would not have been possible without the robust collaboration and support from our intelligence units, local informants and sister agencies.

“These landmark operations are testament to the unwavering dedication of the NCS to safeguard the health and well-being of our citizens and uphold the rule of law,” he said.

He said the seizures comprised 403 sacks and 6,504 parcels, weighing 7,217.7 kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each, with a total Duty Paid Value of N117,587,405,00.

He described the height of illicit drugs smuggling in the recent time as worrisome.

This, he said, underscores the severity of drug trafficking within the borders.

“Between Oct. 13 and Nov. 12 alone, operatives intercepted a total of 1,373 parcels of cannabis sativa, weighing 1,337kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each,” he said.

Ojo said the seizures had disrupted the supply chain of illicit drugs, thereby mitigating the risks those substances posed to the youth, families and communities.

He lauded the synergy between its command, security agencies and other stakeholders that led to the remarkable achievements.

Ojo also commended the Comptroller General of NCS for creating an enabling environment for the command to achieve the success.

Responding, Adeyeye, applauded the customs for achieving the feat.

Adeyeye pledged to continue to collaborate with the customs to fight against illicit trade and drug trafficking in the state.

Economy

Customs intercepts N30m worth of PMS in Operation Whirlwind

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said that it had intercepted 849 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), worth over N30 million in retail price from Operation Whirlwind.

The Comptroller of Customs, Hussein Ejibunu, made this known during a news conference in Ikeja.

“Today, we have another seizure of 849 kegs of PMS containing 25 litres each. This translates to 30,225 litres with duty paid value at N30.225 million only at the NNPCL retail price.

“Today marks yet another success recorded by the operatives of Operation Whirlwind, Zone “A” Lagos/Ogun Axis.

“About five weeks ago, same PMS products were displayed before you here on the parade ground of the college where several seizures were made,” Ejibunu said.

“On this note, we wish to thank the National Security Adviser and the Comptroller-General of Customs for their unwavering support,” Ejibunu said.

The coordinator of the Operation Whirlwind said that two vehicles of means of conveyance were intercepted along with the seizures.

Ejibunu said that they evacuated 80 Jerry Cans each from a vehicle.

He assured the public that Operation Whirlwind remains steadfast in its efforts to clamp down on PMS smugglers, ensuring no room for their illegal activities nationwide.

Africa

Ann-Kio Briggs Faults Tinubu for Scrapping Niger Delta Ministry

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

Prominent Niger Delta human rights activist and environmentalist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to scrap the Ministry of Niger Delta, describing it as ill-advised and detrimental to the oil-rich region.

Briggs expressed her concerns during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.

“The Ministry of Niger Delta was created by the late (President Umaru) Yar’Adua. There was a reason for the creation. So, just removing it because the president was advised. I want to believe that he was advised because if he did it by himself, that would be terribly wrong,” she stated.

President Tinubu, in October, dissolved the Ministry of Niger Delta and replaced it with the Ministry of Regional Development, which is tasked with overseeing all regional development commissions, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North-West Development Commission, and North-East Development Commission.

Briggs questioned the rationale behind the restructuring, expressing concerns about its feasibility and implications. “But that’s not going to be the solution because who is going to fund the commissions? Is it the regions because it is called the Regional Development Ministry? Is it the states in the regions? What are the regions because we don’t work with regions right now; we are working with geopolitical zones,” she remarked.

She added, “Are we going back to regionalism? If we are, we have to discuss it. The president can’t decide on his own to restructure Nigeria. If we are restructuring Nigeria, the president alone can’t restructure Nigeria, he has to take my opinion and your opinion into consideration.”

Briggs also decried the longstanding neglect of the Niger Delta despite its significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy since 1958. “The Niger Delta has been developing Nigeria since 1958. We want to use our resources to develop our region; let regions use their resources to develop themselves,” she asserted.

Reflecting on the various bodies established to address the region’s development, Briggs lamented their failure to deliver meaningful progress. She highlighted the Niger Delta Basin Authority, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), and the NDDC as examples of ineffective interventions.

“NDDC was created by Olusegun Obasanjo…There was OMPADEC before NDDC. OMPADEC was an agency. Before OMPADEC, there was the Basin Authority…These authorities were created to help us. Were we helped by those authorities? No, we were not,” she said.

Briggs further described the NDDC as an “ATM for failed politicians, disgruntled politicians, and politicians that have had their electoral wins taken away from them and given to somebody else.”

Her remarks underscore the deep-seated frustrations in the Niger Delta, where residents continue to advocate for greater control over their resources and improved governance.