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.
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, an Accord Party aspirant and about 3,000 other politicians have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Among the defectors was Ademola, popularly known as Lucky, who said his decision to leave the PDP followed a careful assessment of the state’s political landscape and the prospects of the parties ahead of the next general election.
Speaking during the defection ceremony, Ademola described the APC as the party with the strongest political prospects in Oyo State.
“I did my due diligence and realised that any ticket outside the APC is a mere tissue paper that cannot take a candidate anywhere in 2027.
“We are here in our hundreds to formally join the APC, and we promise to do our best in the interest of the progressive party and our dear country, Nigeria,” he said.
Also joining the APC was Ojo, who had been seeking the Accord Party’s ticket in the same constituency.
Ojo said his decision to abandon Accord followed what he described as unsuccessful efforts to establish the party as a credible political alternative in the state.
According to him, the group had invested considerable time, energy and resources in the party before concluding that joining the APC offered a more promising political platform.
“We thought about making Accord a credible alternative in the state, but we later realised that the APC was far ahead of other parties.
“We wasted our time, energy and resources on an unproductive exercise. We later realised it wasn’t worth it, so we decided to pitch our tent with the progressive party,” Ojo said.
The defectors were formally received by the Oyo State APC Chairman, Chief Moses Alake-Adeyemo, who assured them of equal opportunities and fair treatment within the party.
The ceremony was attended by the APC deputy governorship candidate, Adesoji Adedeji, the party’s Oyo South Senatorial candidate, Aderemi Oseni, and other prominent party leaders.
The mass defection comes as political parties intensify efforts to strengthen their structures and build support ahead of the 2027 elections in Oyo State.
Ademola popularly known as Lucky, said his decision to leave the PDP was influenced by his assessment of the political situation in the state ahead of the 2027 elections.
“I did my due diligence and realised that any ticket outside the APC is a mere tissue paper that cannot take a candidate anywhere in 2027.
We are here in our hundreds to formally join the APC, and we promise to do our best in the interest of the progressive party and our dear country, Nigeria,” Ademola said.
Ojo, who was seeking the Accord ticket in the same constituency, also announced his decision to join the APC, describing his previous political efforts with Accord as unproductive.
We thought about making Accord a credible alternative in the state, but we later realised that the APC was far ahead of other parties.
“We wasted our time, energy and resources on an unproductive exercise. We later realised it wasn’t worth it, so we decided to pitch our tent with the progressive party,” Ojo said.
The defectors were received by the Oyo State Chairman of the APC, Chief Moses Alake-Adeyemo, who assured them that they would have equal opportunities within the party.
We thought about making Accord a credible alternative in the state, but we later realised that the APC was far ahead of other parties.
“We wasted our time, energy and resources on an unproductive exercise. We later realised it wasn’t worth it, so we decided to pitch our tent with the progressive party,” Ojo said.
The defectors were received by the Oyo State Chairman of the APC, Chief Moses Alake-Adeyemo, who assured them that they would have equal opportunities within the party.
The event was attended by the APC deputy governorship candidate, Adesoji Adedeji, the party’s Oyo South Senatorial candidate, Aderemi Oseni and other party leaders.
The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation has described the Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Presidential Candidate, Seyi Makinde, as clueless and a total embarrassment to the people of the State, saying “for failing to address hunger in Oyo State despite increased funds from the federation account, Makinde has shown that he is more than clueless.”
The Campaign Organisation, in a statement by Bisi Oladele, Director of Media and Publicity, said Governor Makinde’s admittance of more money from the federation account to Oyo State was a confirmation of the success of the economic reform policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Makinde had admitted in Lafia, Nasarawa State on Monday, that Oyo State received more money from the federation account, but added that he has not been able to reduce hunger in the State.
The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation, in a statement on Tuesday, said Makinde’s statement, though a function of his level of intellectual capacity, is a sad and clear reality of what Oyo State has been going through in terms of purposeful governance in the last seven years.
If through the ingenuity and purposeful leadership of President Tinubu, Oyo State allocation from the federation account has increased tremendously, should it also be the duty of the President to ensure judicious use of the money?
If you have acknowledged that monthly, you have been getting more money from the federation account, who are you expecting to come and help you to fight hunger in your State? Is it President Tinubu?
Most importantly, this same Governor Makinde has deliberately refused to allow local governments in Oyo State to function. He has criminally been everywhere, opposing local government autonomy so as to continue to spend both the State and local council funds.
Therefore, for the people of Oyo State, waiting a day longer to stop the extension of Makinde’s cluelessness beyond 2027 is what must not be allowed to happen and on February 6, 2027, the governor and the man through whom he desires to extend his clueless government will be rejected by the people.
Bisi Oladele
Director, Media and Publicity
Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation
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