Politics
Condemnations trail Rivers LG polls as CSOs declare entire exercise lack credibility
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…say it was a closed collation process
…it smirks of a process of govt, by govt and for govt
Condemnations trail Rivers Local Government polls as observer groups declare that the entire exercise lack credibility.
This was contained in a situation report by PILEX and CIEPD on Sunday which clearly indicated that that the mechanism put in place was weak and there’s urgent need for improvement.
The CSOs insist the whole process smirks of a process it smirks of a process of government, by government and for government.
The observed shortcomings of the entire exercise were well documented as stated in the report report below 👇
SHORTCOMINGS:
PILEX CENTRE-THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATES in collaboration with Anpez, CIEPD
I-REPORT SITUATION ROOM and our team of observers (76) on the field
across Rivers State observed the Rivers State Local Government Elections from
the build up till this moment of collation of results.
“While we appreciate the effort of RSIEC to conduct this election at such a tough
time as this in the political history of Rivers State, we believe that there is need for improvements in order to set a fair playing ground for all political parties and candidates in order to ensure a free and fair election.
RESULT SHEET
“At Phalga LGA, D.Line Ward 1 Units 8,9,10, Ward 4 Units 48, 49, 50, 51 Ogbunabali
Ward 3, Ward 2, Oroworukwu Ward 9 Units 5,6,7,8,9 etc .
“The absence of Result
sheet undermined the credibility of the process because Agents of Labour Party and other interested Political Parties asked for Result Sheets and moved to stop the polls if the Result Sheets weren’t produced.
“This systemic flop of RSIEC affected the
credibility of the polls and risked the life of the Ad-hoc staff.
MANUAL VOTING/EARLY CLOSURE OF POLLS
“The Manual Voting process of RSIEC and use of incident form is archaic and prone
to manipulations. Electronic Voting and transmission of results is the best way to go in order to have a credible free and fair elections wherein the votes of the
electorates or voters will truly count. Early closure of polls disenfranchised some electorates.
LOGISTICS
“Materials did not arrive in time or at all in some polling Unit and cubicles were not used for secret balloting. The implication is that such open balloting may sway the votes of electorates who may suffer reprisal attacks if they don’t vote a particular party or candidate.
POOR OR NO IMMEDIATE GRIEVANCE MECHANISM
“Our Situation observed that the process did not create any solid internal
mechanism for grievance or dissent before the results are announced. Such pattern may encourage violence or discourage genuine candidates who have legitimatecomplaint.
” Irregularities in some polling units should be addressed before results
are announced. This is to avoid announcing results in polling Units where elections did not hold or where the election was fraught with fraud, snatching of ballot materials, violence etc. and some of such incidents were witnessed in this election and the candidates affected, would be left with the only option of going to court.
“This is a systemic flaw, capable of occasioning injustice.
CLOSED COLLATION PROCESS
“Our observers were lost as to where your Ward and State Collation should take place and who is allowed into your “holy sanctuary” to witness the collation and how you arrived at your results.
“A closed collation process is prone to manipulations
and should be avoided. Cumulated Results should be fact-checked with polling unit results for credibility. The truth is that the entire election lacks credibility.
WEAK RESPONSE MECHANISM
“The phone contacts of Electoral officers in-charge of L.G.As and wards were not
given to observers, as such when an incident occurs, observers are lost as to who to contact to respond to such incident(s).
LESS ROOM FOR OPPOSITION
“The entire process is skewed to favor the candidate or party of the Government inpower.
“If the Government of the day was in a good relationship with PDP, PDP
would have won the entire seats. Such pattern stiffens fair competition and churns out unpopular or incompetent leaders who may just be enjoying political patronage or settlement.
HENCE, we RECOMMEND
1. Result sheets should be provided in all the polling units to ensure a
credible process and also ensure the safety of ad-hoc staff.
2. Rivers State Electoral Laws be amended to adopt electronic voting
3. Cubicles should be provided in all polling Units in circumstance of
Manual voting.
4. Rivers State Electoral Laws and RSIEC guideline should make room
for practical grievance mechanism (especially in cases of
overwhelming evidence of irregularities) before election results are
announced in order to encourage genuine aspirants.
5. The Collation process should be more transparent and open to all.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well and our Holy book will say,
let everything be done decently and in order.
6. Ad-hoc Staff should be appropriately trained and should be adviced
to only close polls at the closing time stipulated by RSIEC.
7. A fair playing ground should be set for all candidates to have a fair
chance of winning. Democracy is a government of the people NOT A
GOVERNMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT AND FOR
THE GOVERNMENT.
In a rare political development that has sent shockwaves through Sokoto State, the Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, Isa Kalanjeni, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and simultaneously stepped down from his elected position as council chairman.
The twin resignations were contained in two separate letters made available to journalists in Sokoto on Tuesday.
In a letter dated May 5, 2026, addressed to the APC Ward Chairman of Kalanjeni Ward in Tangaza Local Government, Kalanjeni announced his immediate departure from the ruling party.
I wish to formally inform you of my decision to resign from the APC with immediate effect. This decision is borne out of purely personal reasons. I appreciate the opportunity given to me to be part of the party.”
Resignation from Office
In a separate letter dated July 7, 2026, addressed to the Secretary to the Sokoto State Government and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Kalanjeni formally resigned as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area with immediate effect.
Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning from my position as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, effective immediately from today.”
Reasons Cited
The embattled chairman explained that the “difficult decision” followed extensive consultations with family, political associates, and community stakeholders.
He also cited administrative constraints, stating:
“Due to recent unavoidable administrative challenges, I find that I am no longer able to execute the responsibilities of this office to the high standard expected of me.”
Despite the abrupt exit, Kalanjeni expressed appreciation to the people of the council:
“I am incredibly grateful to the electorate, the council’s legislative arm, and the entire staff for the privilege and opportunity to serve our people. I wish the incoming leadership and administration continued success.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is on course to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) July 11 deadline for the submission of its presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections.
A senior member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the upload of candidates’ details was at an advanced stage, with the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate expected to be uploaded by the middle of the week.
“We are progressing smoothly with the uploading of the details of our National Assembly candidates,” the source said.
“We hope that on or before next Wednesday, we shall upload the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate. We are completely sure of meeting the July 11 deadline for uploading all our candidates on the INEC portal.”
Checks at the APC’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department at the Muhammadu Buhari House headquarters in Abuja on Sunday indicated that the party’s technical team has continued to interface with the INEC portal without disruption.
Sources in the department said the details of most principal officers of the 10th National Assembly and several serving lawmakers had already been uploaded.
They added that the details of four serving governors — AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State — had also been uploaded to the INEC portal.
The race to meet the deadline followed a review of the party’s primary elections. The APC recently submitted a revised list of candidates to INEC after the NWC removed six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had earlier emerged from the party’s May primaries.
The changes affected constituencies in Abia, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Niger and Kwara states and followed the recommendations of the party’s Primary Election Appeal Committee.
The revised list was forwarded to INEC in a letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved members after the conclusion of its primaries.
“The party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members following the conclusion of our shadow elections,” Morka said.
He declined to state when the final list of candidates would be released publicly, saying the party’s immediate focus was to ensure compliance with INEC’s nomination requirements.
“Our absolute immediate priority right now is ensuring that our designated candidates properly complete and return their Form EC9 nomination documents for upload ahead of the strict INEC deadline, rather than focusing on the public release of the list,” he said.
Despite the changes made by the appeal committee, the final list submitted to INEC retained many of the party’s leading figures, including four serving governors who secured the party’s tickets to contest Senate seats in the 2027 general elections.
Lawmaker representing the Nasarawa South Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo, has officially resigned from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
His resignation was contained in a letter dated July 2, 2026, and addressed to the ADC Ward Chairman in Galadimawa Ward, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The lawmaker attributed his decision to the party’s lingering internal crisis and protracted legal disputes at the national level.
In the letter sighted on Sunday by our correspondent, Onawo said his resignation takes effect from June 15, 2026.
The lawmaker said the persistent internal wrangling and legal battles within the party made it difficult for him to pursue the developmental mandate entrusted to him by the electorate.
“It is driven by my firm belief that the prevailing circumstances within the current party structure and the endless legal battles it is currently embroiled in no longer provide the cohesion, support, and enabling environment for me to focus squarely on effectively representing my constituents and to fully realise the developmental and progressive mandate they entrusted to me,” he said.
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