Politics

APC rejects Plateau LG election results, heads to court

Published

3 days ago

October 13, 2024

At a press conference held on Saturday at the party secretariat in Jos, the state capital, the APC chairman in the state, Rufus Bature, stated that the party would not accept the outcome of the exercise.

According to Bature, the Wednesday LG election was flawed, rigged, and unacceptable by any standard. He stated that the election was the worst ever conducted in the state’s political history.

The chairman faulted the distribution of sensitive materials to local government areas and subsequently to various electoral wards and polling units.

He said, “It is a fact that election materials particularly ballot papers were grossly inadequate as polling units, mostly those perceived as APC strongholds, were deliberately given 10% to 20% of what were required.

“Furthermore in those earmarked areas, results sheets were not provided at all for reasons best known to PLSIEC. Despite all complaints and representations made to the electoral officers, nothing changed. Added to this unfortunate scenario was the supply of malfunctioned voting machines which never worked, and in most polling units, the machines hardly lasted more than two hours.

“This, we know is a clever way of rigging and also disenfranchising the people. Worst of all was the fact that election never took place in some areas and there was reported stuffing of ballot papers in PDP strongholds.

Inspite of these manipulations and sophistry by PLASIEC and the PDP-led government, the people never wavered but instead voted the candidates of their choices.

“PLASIEC officials particularly returning officers absconded across the entire states without waiting to collate the results as stipulated by law.”

Bature, however, called on the supporters of his party to remain calm and resilient to the party, assuring that the party would do everything possible to regain its mandates.

Politics

PDP Govs Broker Truce, Instruct All Members to Revert to Status Quo

Published

5 hours ago

October 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum has instructed all feuding members within the party to return to the status quo.

The directive was issued by the forum’s chairman, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, following a meeting of PDP governors that extended into the early hours of Tuesday.

Governor Mohammed clarified that while disagreements are inevitable in any political party, such issues can always be resolved amicably.

“There is no crisis,” he said, emphasizing that the party’s various groups, including the Governors, Board of Trustees (BoT), and National Assembly caucus, have reached a consensus for the National Working Committee (NWC) to restore the status quo.

Mohammed added that all suspensions within the party have been nullified, signaling an effort to maintain unity within the PDP.

Further details on the outcomes of the meeting are expected later.

Politics

PDP Crisis: Damagun’s Faction Demands Arrest of Factional Acting Chair, Others

Published

5 hours ago

October 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Umar Damagum is calling for the arrest of Yayari Mohammed for impersonation and breaching a court order.

This demand follows a recent ruling from an Abuja Federal High Court that barred the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) from removing Damagum as the party’s Acting National Chairman.

Acting National Publicity Secretary Abdullahi Manga expressed this stance during a press conference in Abuja, emphasizing that Mohammed’s actions contravene the court’s directive.

“The security agencies should act against Mohammed and others for impersonation and violation of court order,” he stated, asserting that there are no alternatives left but to involve law enforcement to uphold the rule of law.

Manga clarified that the court order was issued prior to Damagum’s suspension, asserting, “The court order came before the supposed suspension. We were all here when the suspension came, and that was far after the court order.”

Politics

Edo 2024: We’ll reclaim our stolen mandate –PDP

Published

6 hours ago

October 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, has expressed confidence in reclaiming what he described as the party’s “stolen mandate” from the September 21 governorship election.

During a press briefing in Benin City, Aziegbemi revealed that the PDP has successfully filed a petition before the Edo State Election Tribunal to challenge the results, which he labeled as electoral robbery.

Aziegbemi also accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to stall the court-ordered inspection of election materials at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office, asserting that the PDP had outmaneuvered the APC’s alleged ploys. “We have begun the journey to reclaim the people’s mandate… The tribunal will give us our mandate based on overwhelming evidence,” he stated.

Further, Aziegbemi criticized the APC for disrupting processes at INEC, questioning why they would oppose transparency if they truly won. “If you won, why fight hard to stop the other person from inspecting the process?” he added.

As the PDP continues to gather evidence for the tribunal, Aziegbemi warned of further political arrests aimed at undermining their efforts but assured weekly updates to keep the public informed.