BREAKING: INEC DECLARES ROCHAS OKOROCHA SENATOR-ELECT

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday morning declared Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, the winner of the Imo West senatorial election.

The Returning officer, Prof Francis Ibeawuchi, who announced the results at the collation center in Orlu Local Government Area, said that Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress polled a total of 97762 votes to defeat his two major contenders.

According to the Returning officer, Jones Onyereri of the People’s Democratic Party scored 63117 votes to come second while senator Osita Izunaso of the All Progressives Grand Alliance garnered 30923 to come a distant third.

The declaration of the result sparked protest and jubilations at the premises of the INEC  office.

While the supporters of Okorocha celebrated, the supporters of the PDP candidate rejected the outcome.

PDP CANDIDATE, MUTIU OKUONOLA DISRUPTS INEC COLLATION CENTRE IN LAGOS - SAHARAREPORTERS

Mutiu Okunola, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Ikeja Federal Constituency, has disrupted the proceedings of the result collation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the Ikeja Local Government Area in Lagos.

In a video recorded by SaharaReporters, Okunola accused INEC of changing the figures of the result in favour of Abiodun Faleke, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m09s0zEwW8Y

According to an eyewitness, Okunola jumped the fence to gain access into the centre.

He threw the result sheets to the ground in anger, and was generally unruly. A few policemen present at the centre failed to arrest the situation, and simply looked on while Olunola constituted a nuisance.

He was then accosted by some persons at the venue of the collation, but instead chose to fight them off, and in the fracas, a woman was thrown to the ground.

Attempts by another officer, who eventually came in to try and manage the situation fell on deaf ears, as he kept shouting.

http://saharareporters.com/2019/02/24/video-pdp-candidate-mutiu-okuonola-disrupts-inec-collation-centre-lagos

FORMER PDP CHAIRMAN, AHMED MAKARFI LOSES CONSTITUENCY TO APC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the results of Makarfi/Kudan and Ikara/Kubau Federal Constituencies.

Announcing the result in Makarfi, Prof. Tijjani Abubakar of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said Mukhtar Sani Shehu Ladan of the APC scored 59,495 votes to defeat Ahmed Hassan Jumare of the PDP who scored 35,126.

Therefore, Ladan had been elected to represent Makarfi/Kudan in the House of Representatives, which is the constituency of the former governor of Kaduna state and ex-interim national chairman of the PDP, Ahmed Muhammed Makarfi.

Similarly, Dr. Salisu Ibrahim of the APC was declared winner for Ikara/Kubau Federal Constituency as he scored 101,364 to defeat his PDP counterpart who scored 35,956.

INEC SHIFTS COLLATION OF 2019 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS TO MONDAY

Nigerians may have to wait much longer to know who will lead them in the next four years.

This is because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has shifted to Monday for the commencement of the collation of last weekend’s Presidential Election.
Earlier last Sunday,  the commission had confirmed receipt of the results from Ekiti state. 

Inaugurating the collation center,  at the International Conference Center, Abuja, the Chief Returning Officer who is also the Chairman of INEC,  Prof Mahmood Yakubu says results will be collated state by state in a sequence  set up by the commission secretariat headed by himself. 

According to him,  each state result will be collated through the Returning officer assisted by the Residence Electoral Officer before its overall results could be made known to Nigerians. 

In attendance at the collation of the final result of the last weekend Presidential election were representatives of all the political parties,  INEC commissioners,  Civil Society organizations, the media and observers respectively.

A NIGERIAN MAN ARRESTED FOR PREACHING ON THE STREETS OF NORTH LONDON

A Christian preacher was arrested yesterday afternoon by the police at Southgate station London N14 for preaching about Jesus Christ.

The man who is believed to be a Nigerian – was told by the police that the public had said he was being Islamophobic and that he should stop his preaching.

The man said he can be arrested and no matter what is done to him, he will not stop preaching. He also told the officers to give their lives to Christ as he said he won’t go away because he needs to tell people the truth.

An officer told him he doesn’t want to listen to his preaching. The Nigerian replied by telling him he will listen to the gospel when he’s dead.

That was the moment the officer placed handcuffs on him and arrested him.

BREAKING: THUGS STORM INEC OFFICE, BURN BALLOT BOXES

Alleged political thugs, Sunday stormed the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Oriade local government area, Osun state, and set all the ballot boxes on fire.

Reports have it that the hoodlums opened fire to scare away officials of the commission and party agents before seizing ballot boxes, thumb-printed ballot papers and setting them on fire.

Details later....

APC CHIEFTAIN, BROTHER, COUSIN SHOT DEAD IN ANDONI, RIVERS STATE

The All Progressives Congress has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of sponsoring thugs to attack Chief Mowan Etete, an APC chieftain in Asarama, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Etete was a former council chairman. Also killed was his elder brother and another victim said to be his cousin.

This was disclosed in a statement by Senibo Chris Finebone, the Rivers APC Publicity Secretary, who added that “It’s instructive to note that PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, is from Andoni LGA in Rivers State.”

He also noted that Ignatius, an ex-official member of APC Rivers State Executive committee, was also shot to death in Ajakaja in Andoni LGA.

“Shooting by PDP thugs reported in Unit 3, 11, 6 and 7 in Ubima, Ikwerre LGA. Voters have been chased away,” he added.

BREAKING NEWS: INEC POSTPONES ELECTIONS IN LAGOS, RIVERS, ANAMBRA , OTHERS

INEC boss, Prof Mahmood Yakubu

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has announced the postponement of the elections in some parts of Lagos, Rivers and Anambra States following disruption of the exercise due to violence.

Specifically, INEC said elections in Akuku Toru and Bonny local government areas of Rivers state as well as some parts of Anambra and Lagos would be conducted on a later date, saying mostly affected is the contest for the federal legislative seats.

“The commission has received reports of violence and ballot box snatching in some areas leading to the disruption of the process. We have asked the Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs and the Electoral Officials on ground to submit their firsthand reports in relation to some of these incidents.

We are still receiving reports relating to incidences in some states of the federation but we have received reports relating to incidences in Akuku Toru and Bonny local government areas of Rivers state. So long as the commission could not deploy in these areas, the implication is that voting did not take place in those areas and the commission will hold consultations with the relevant authorities and the Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs in relation to these areas and will announce the date when polls will take place in some of these areas, especially in relation to the areas as they affect the House of Representatives and Senatorial elections.

“It is not only in Rivers that we had reports of burning of electoral materials. We have such reports from Anambra and Lagos states as well as some other places”, he added.

The commission also vowed to prosecute any of its staff who failed to use the Smart Card Readers for purposes of accreditation, saying where the card readers do not work up till 6pm on Election Day, the standard procedure is to shift the exercise to the next day.

According to Okoye, no staff of the commission has discretionary powers on the use or otherwise of the card readers as its usage is not a subject of negotiation.

“With regards to the challenges associated with Smart Card Readers in some polling units, most of these challenges were resolved and were resolved on time. However, it is to be noted that in the Regulations and the Guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC it was made very clear that the use of the smart card readers is mandatory.

Therefore, no staff of the Commission or any ad hoc staff of the Commission is permitted in whatever guise to deliberately refuse to use the smart card readers for the conduct of elections.

According to the Guidelines and Regulations of the Commission, it is negligent conduct for any ad hoc staff to refuse to use the smart card readers for purposes of accreditation and any of them that refused to use the smart card readers or deliberately violated the use of the smart card readers will be subject to prosecution in accordance with the Guidelines and Regulations of the Commission and the Electoral Act”, he declared.

PRESIDENT BUHARI WINS IN OBASANJO'S POLLING UNIT

President Muhammadu Buhari emerged victorious at the polling unit of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the presidential election held on Saturday. At Obasanjo’s polling unit in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 87 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came far behind with just 18 votes. Obasanjo had supported Buhari in the 2015 election, but chose to pitch his tent with Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the PDP for the 2019 presidential election

COURT OF APPEAL CLEARS ZAMFARA APC CANDIDATES FOR 2019 ELECTIONS

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has cleared the All Progressives Congress, APC, to participate in the general elections starting on Saturday.

The court set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which affirmed the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to bar the ruling party from fielding candidates in the State.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had in a judgment delivered on 25th January 2019, held that INEC was right to have delisted names of candidates.

The court ruled that the APC failed to conduct a valid primary within the period scheduled by the electoral body.

However, a 3-man panel of the Appeal Court, led by Justice Abdul Aboki, held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to have entertained the suit, adding that it was an abuse of court process.

The judge further stated that the suit at the Federal High Court was filed out of time.

He said that the Electoral Act provides for 14 days to institute a suit after the cause of action had arisen.

The Appeal Court noted that the suit was filed 15 days after, and therefore rendered the action incompetent.