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Gov Wike
The All Progressives Congress member representing Rivers East Senatorial District, Andrew Uchendu, has accused the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, of militarising the recent elections in the state.
He said the Nigerian Army was innocent contrary to Wike’s claims.
Uchendu stated this in Abuja on Thursday during an interview with journalists on the crisis over the yet to be concluded governorship and state house of assembly elections in the state.
He alleged that Wike’s armed thugs in military uniforms carried out most of the killings and violent acts that took place in the state during the elections.
He said, “Governor Wike on March 9, when the governorship election held, stormed Obio-Akpor Local Government Collation Centre with over 200 armed thugs.
“They shot an Army captain, by name Salami, to death and injured many others, all in the process of falsifying already collated results from the ward levels.”
He alleged further that Wike worked with the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Obo Effanga, to manipulate the election results in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“All the narratives out there including the one said by Senator Dino Melaye ( PDP Kogi West), on the floor of the Senate on alleged militarisation of the last general elections in Rivers State, were nothing but falsehood sponsored by Governor Wike,” he added.
Gov Ganduje
Kano state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has accused the Commissioner of Police Muhammed Wakili for being politically partial.
Governor Ganduje slammed the Commissioner in an interview with BBC Hausa Service.
“I didn’t know him before now but the way he does his job is questionable. He has taken and favoured a particular political side, which is uncalled for and translates to mishandling his job”
Ganduje added that the Commissioner has no constitutional right to arrest either the governor or his deputy as he did “which is an indication of lack of professionalism from the side of the Commissioner”
On March 11, the Nigeria Police in Kano arrested the Deputy Governor, Nasiru Gawuna, and the State Commissioner for Local Government, Alhaji Sule Garo, over alleged threat to public peace.
The deputy governor enjoys immunity from arrest, according to the Nigerian constitution.
The Police later clarified that the deputy governor was saved from being manhandled by supporters of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party candidate, at the collation centre.
Wike
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has claimed that the enemies of the state were struggling to stop the collation and declaration of the governorship election in the State.
According to Wike, the police was now inviting Electoral and Collation Officers to intimidate them over collated results in the governorship election.
Wike spoke during a solidarity visit to his office at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday, by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus and other members of the party’s National Working Committee.
Wike said, “The Police is trying to intimidate Collation and Electoral Officers by inviting them for one offence or the other so as to impinge on the Collation Process.
“Imagine where the police is inviting the entire Returning Officers and Entire Electoral Officers because allegations have been made against the INEC officials. This is just to let the entire world see what we are talking about “.
The Governor said that the enemies of the state have continued to roll out strategies to destroy the governorship election collation process.
“They go by this strategy, if it fails, they go by the other strategy. They brought the Army, it failed. They have gone to the court and now they want to use the police.”
Governor Wike said that the good people of Rivers State will overcome all the challenges thrown at the state by the system.
“Like I said, this victory will be the best. It will be the sweetest amongst all the states. That is what I see coming. There is no election that will be held in this state and another party will win.
“Not to talk about a party that is not on ground. They have failed and that is the truth of the matter”, he said.
Governor Wike said the political situation in Rivers State has exposed the negative aspects of the system.
“In the end, PDP will emerge victorious in this State. It is a victory that can be delayed, but not denied.
“This morning, the other political party went to court to stop Collation. As God will have it, the court did not grant them their request.
“You see how funny it is. The candidate of AAC said he won the election. The same candidate has gone to court to stop Collation and seek for the cancellation of an election, he claimed that he won”, he said.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Abba Kabir-Yusuf, has got the highest number of votes from results of the 44 Local Government areas in Kano State.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the state, Riskuwa Shehu, had ordered for fresh collation of results from the wards in Nasarawa local government after the local government collation centre was attacked and the main result sheet was torn.
However, Kabir-Yusuf, a son-in-law to ex-governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, won the pending local government which had delayed the final announcement of governorship election result in the state.
After collation of results from 10 wards of the local government last night, PDP scored 54,349, votes while the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), scored 34,297 votes.
Based on the results collated at the state collation centre, the PDP, which had earlier polled 960,004 votes from 43 local governments now has a total of 1,014,353 votes.
The APC which had polled 953,522 votes from 43 local government areas now has 987,819 votes.
Activist-lawyer Ebun-Olu Adgboruwa has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no power to withhold the certificate of return of an election winner.
He said there was no basis in law for INEC to review an already declared result of an election “no matter the circumstances”.
He faulted the commission for withholding the certificate of return of Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha.
INEC said Okorocha was declared winner of a senatorial seat “under duress”.
Adegboruwa said the ommission of Okorocha's name from the list of those presented with certificates of return “is illegal and ultra vires the electoral body”.
He argued that based Section 68 (1) (c) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), only a tribunal could overule an election.
The Section reads: “The decision of the Returning Officer on any question arising from or relating to declaration of scores of candidates and the return of a candidate, shall be final, subject to review by a Tribunal or Court in an election petition proceedings under this Act.”
Adegboruwa said: “In the case of Governor Okorocha, there was a declaration of his scores in the election and he was announced and returned as elected, by INEC.
“However, the Returning Officer claimed that he did the declaration and return under duress to save his life. This is an allegation, coming from INEC.
They are facts that will aid the Election Petitions Tribunal to take a decision on whether or not to nullify the election, in view of the alleged violence or duress.
“But INEC cannot in law raise an allegation of duress or violence and then proceed to investigate it and then take a decision on it. You cannot be a judge in your own cause!
“Whereas I do not support that any electoral officer should be threatened or compelled to make a declaration, but once when a declaration has been made, it becomes final.
“It cannot be reviewed, retracted, reversed or investigated by INEC. Section 68 gives that power of review to a Tribunal or Court in election petition proceedings. This is clear beyond any controversy, from the letters of section 68 above.
“INEC has no power under the law, to withhold or refuse to issue a certificate of return, to a person whose scores or votes have already been declared, even if done under duress or through violence.
“Section 75 of the Electoral Act provides as follows:
‘A sealed Certificate of Return at an election in a prescribed form shall be issued within seven days to every candidate who has won an election under this Act: Provided that where the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, being the final appellate court in any election petition as the case may be, nullifies the Certificate of Return of any candidate, the Commission shall, within forty-eight hours after the receipt of the order of such Court, issue the successful candidate with a valid Certificate of Return.’
“From the foregoing, INEC must issue a certificate of return to every candidate who has been declared to have won an election, it has no discretion in the matter.
“Whether he won under duress or with violence, is immaterial. Okorocha has been duly declared and INEC has no choice than to issue him a certificate of return. The facts of how he got himself declared are for the Election Petitions Tribunal.”
Adegboruwa said based on Section 75 (1), where a certificate of return has become a subject of litigation and is nullified by the court, then INEC will issue a new certificate of return to the other candidate who has succeeded in the court case, as the old certificate of return stands nullified by the court.
“Thus, it is not the candidate who has been declared in any election that will go to court to compel INEC to issue him with a certificate of return, but rather for the aggrieved candidate to approach the Elections Petition Tribunal to have the certificate of return nullified.
“Section 75 (2) of the Electoral Act: ‘ Where the Commission refuses or neglects to issue a certificate of return, a certified true copy of the order of a court of competent jurisdiction shall, ipso facto, be sufficient for the purpose of swearing-in a candidate declared as the winner by the court.’
“Section 75 (2) is simply meant to enforce the proviso to section 75 (1). It is about what happens post-litigation. It does not confer INEC with power to withhold certificate of return for a candidate that was originally declared winner of an election.
“Reading sections 75 (1) and (2) together, here is what the law says:1. Once a candidate’s score or election results have been declared, INEC must issue him with a certificate of return.
“Where that certificate of return has been challenged and is nullified by the court, INEC must issue a new certificate of return to the person newly declared by the court as winner of the election.
“If the candidate newly declared by the court is unable to get INEC to issue him with a new certificate of return within 48 hours of the judgment of the court, then he can rely upon a certified true copy of the court judgment for his swearing-in, in place of the certificate of return.
“It is clear that INEC has no power in law, to review the outcome of election results or declarations and it has no power to withhold certificate of return.
“We must be careful not to create monsters and terrors from our institutions, where the law has not conferred such powers on them.”