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Edo/Ondo polls: INEC warns against hate speech, arms at campaign venue
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned political parties involved in the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states to avoid the use of hate speech and offensive languages in the conduct of their campaign for the elections.
The Commission also said that parties contesting the election should avoid carrying arms to venue of such campaigns which must be communicated to the Commission and the Nigeria Police, at least 10 days before the campaign.
This was contained in the guidelines for the campaign released by the commission yesterday.
In accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, the campaign guidelines also said all candidates in the election should be allowed access to public facilities for their campaign activities.
A statement by the National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, reminded parties of the need to adhere to the provisions of the law before, during and after the election.
The statement reads: “Following the publication of the final list of candidates for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, public campaigns have commenced in earnest.
“Over the years, a recurring problem in Nigeria’s electioneering process has been the use of the power of incumbency to deny opposition parties and candidates access to public facilities for rallies and other campaign activities.
“These include public buildings such as sports stadiums, open spaces in public places, total denial or restricted access to state-owned media (specifically radio and television stations), the imposition of excessive levies and fees for outdoor and media advertising, and even the removal or vandalisation of billboards and posters.
“These actions often result in violent clashes among party supporters and a breach of public peace.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission wishes to reiterate that Section 95(2) of the Electoral Act 2022 prohibits the use of state apparatus to “the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election”.
“Furthermore, under Section 95(3-5), it is obligatory for public media houses to allot equal coverage and visibility to all parties and candidates. Section 95(6) provides sanctions against heads of public media organisations, their principal officers, and other officials for contravention.
“A publication containing the Commission’s guidelines for the conduct of political rallies, processions and campaigns is already uploaded to the Commission’s website (www.inecnigeria.org). For emphasis, the same document is now uploaded to our social media platforms.
“Consequently, the attention of all concerned is drawn to the provisions of the law and the guidelines for strict compliance”.
The Universal Basic Education Commission on Tuesday announced plans to introduce a new template for disbursing counterpart funds under the Universal Basic Education programme.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Aisha Garba, during an interactive workshop with State Universal Basic Education Boards in Abuja.
Garba explained that the Federal Government, through UBEC, had recently restructured the delivery of basic education nationwide to align with four strategic pillars aimed at improving access and quality across states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She identified the pillars as expanding access to basic education, especially for rural and underserved populations; enhancing the quality of teaching and learning nationwide; strengthening accountability and the effective use of education financing; and optimising monitoring and institutional systems for quality service delivery.
She said, “The Hope Education Project of the present administration is a performance-for-reward initiative designed to support states that judiciously utilise resources in line with these four pillars.”
She added that the new approach had made it necessary to develop fresh templates that will guide SUBEBs in preparing work plans to access UBE intervention funds under the framework of the Hope Education Project.
Also speaking at the event, UBEC’s Deputy Executive Secretary for General Services, Tunde Ajibulu, described the workshop as timely and essential.
He stressed that the realignment of basic education delivery made the introduction of the new templates crucial.
“We expect you, as implementers of basic education in your respective states, to contribute positively and help develop workable templates,” Ajibulu said.
A Kano State High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by former Kano State Governor and current National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear a bribery and misappropriation case against him.
The Kano State Government brought 11 counts against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, son Umar, and five others, alleging bribery totalling $413,000 and misappropriation of N1.38 billion.
The other defendants include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu dismissed all preliminary objections raised by the defendants, describing them as incompetent and lacking merit.
She ruled that the charges filed on May 13, 2024, were competent and that the matter should proceed to trial.
The judge further issued a summons to the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the case to July 30 and 31, 2025, for hearing.
Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, and son Umar, had through their lawyer, Mrs. Lydia Oyewo, filed a preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking to have all charges quashed.
In response, counsel for the state government, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), filed a counter-application dated October 22, 2024, urging the court to dismiss the preliminary objections for lacking merit.
Similarly, counsel for the third and seventh defendants, M.N. Duru, (SAN), submitted a motion on notice dated October 18, 2024, supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit and a written address, asking the court to uphold their application.
Counsel for the fifth defendant, Muhammad Shehu, also filed a motion dated October 18, 2024, and urged the court to grant it with substantial costs against the complainant.
Abubakar Ahmad, representing the sixth defendant, filed a preliminary objection dated September 9, 2024, supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit.
Additionally, counsel for the eighth defendant, Faruk Asekome, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024, supported by a five-paragraph affidavit and written address, also seeking dismissal of the charges.
Justice Adamu-Aliyu, however, ruled that the objections lacked merit and cleared the way for the trial to proceed.
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