Politics
To Get It Right In Edo
We’re back to the
starting block for the 2016 Edo State governorship election. Two weeks have passed since the original date was blown away and a new date of Wednesday, September 28, 2016 decreed. No one may have computed how much was lost to the decision to cancel the September 10, 2016 date but it does not require mathematical wizardry to understand that the Independent National Electoral Commission, the political parties, the candidates, the civil society and other observer groups, the Edo people and the country at large must have lost huge scarce resources to that decision. Of course, this has not helped our unenviable reputation for wastage of resources in Nigeria, even in lean times, as we are currently in.
All that is behind us now and the mobilisation of needed resources for the conduct of the election has started all over again in earnest.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Edo State, Mr. Sam Olumekun has already told a stakeholders’ meeting that the commission would on Monday, September 26, begin the distribution of sensitive materials for the conduct of the election. To this end, Mr. Olumekun has invited political party agents, collation officers and security agencies to be at the Central Bank, Benin City to observe the distribution.
While this is a strong suggestion that INEC is fully prepared on its part, the Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has declared Tuesday, September 27 and Wednesday, September 28, 2016 as work free days.
Announcing the public holidays during an event organised in his honour by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress in Edo State, on Saturday in Benin City, the governor said the action was to enable all eligible voters to have ample time and freedom to move to their respective registration areas where they will be expected to cast their votes.
Force Public Relations Officers, Donald Awunah, told newsmen in Abuja last Friday that advance units of the police force had already moved into Edo while others had been scheduled to move in stages.
According to the police image maker, t he force is deploying 25,000 personnel consisting of the Police Mobile Force, the Counter Terrorism Unit, the Anti-Bomb Squad, the Marine Police, Conventional Policemen, the Armament Units, personnel from Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department, Force Intelligence Bureau and the Sniffer Dog Section.
“In addition, helicopters and gun boats, 10 additional Armored Personnel Carriers and 550 patrol vehicles would be deployed to cover all the polling units, RAC centres, collation centres, riverine areas and difficult terrains,” he said, adding that a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police and three Commissioners of Police will head the operations.
Awunah promised neutrality of the police and warned of severe consequences for anyone or group caught in any act that will be inimical to the smooth and peaceful conduct of the election.
Speaking with The Tide on the issue in Port Harcourt, the spokesman of the Civil Society Platform in Rivers State, Comrade Christian Lekia, urged the political parties, especially the major ones, and their candidates in Edo State to put the overall interest and wellbeing of the State ahead of their personal and party ambitions.
The civil society activist cautioned the major political actors in Edo State to exercise restraint in their utterances and also rein in their supporters to focus on issues and the conduct of the polls in an atmosphere that is devoid of violence, thuggery and other forms of electoral fraud.
Comrade Lekia who is also the President, Niger Delta Coalition Against Violence charged the people of Edo State to cooperate with the security agencies not only to achieve a hitch-free election but also to ensure their overall security and safety of lives and property.
He advised INEC to assert its authority over the process and to jealously guard its independence and impartiality in order to give credibility to the exercise and win back the confidence of the people.
Comrade Lekia said INEC must rise up to the challenge of effectively coordinating all other agencies and personnel and materials to minimize sabotage and discredit the eventual outcome of the poll.
“Edo State people should understand that it’s all about Edo State,” he stressed, adding that it will not serve the interest of the state and the people if anything is done to undermine a smooth and orderly conduct of the election again.
Exchanging views on the same issue with The Tide, the State Director, National Orientation Agency, NOA, in Rivers State, Mr. Oliver Wolugbom, urged INEC not to leave anything to chance in tis preparation and prosecution of the Edo governorship election on Wednesday this week.
“I think that INEC should be very mindful of what they’re going to do in Edo,” he said. He reiterated that “they should be more careful and more cautious so as to get it right this time around and redeem itself from the unsavoury reputation of conducting inconclusive polls.
“They must come clean this time around and in coming clean, they must ensure that they drive the process that will be transparent,” he emphasised.
To achieve the overriding goal of a free, fair, peaceful and credible electoral contest, the NOA boss urged the electoral commission to take firm control of the process and effectively coordinate all other supporting agencies as well as its personnel.
“I want to encourage Nigerians to help them. But I also want to say that if there are some characters among them that have not come to terms with how elections should be conducted, I think such people should be given orientation,” he said, pointing out that “the unity of this country is at stake if they make mistakes.”
The NOA State Director encouraged the people of Edo State to cooperate with INEC in order to achieve a result that will truly reflect their wishes and aspirations by strictly adhering to the guidelines of the commission.
“If they cooperate with INEC, the result will be good for all of us,” he noted and advised that those that are eligible to vote should restrict themselves to their polling units on election day while those who are not qualified to participate in the process should not get involved.
“To me, what should preoccupy Edo people is for their votes to count,” he said, reminding them that the validation of the expression of their will is a direct function of their comportment as they go about exercising their civic responsibility on the election day.
Yes, INEC, the security agencies, the political parties, their candidates and supporters and the generality of Edo people may collectively hold the key to the eventual outcome of the gubernatorial poll on Wednesday, September 28, 2016, but that outcome will have far reaching implications for the electoral process in Nigeria.
Opaka Dokubo
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, on Monday, passed a vote of confidence in Mojisola Meranda as the Speaker of the Assembly.
The lawmakers expressed their confidence in her leadership at the plenary, which Rt Hon. Meranda presided over amidst tight security.
The Tide’s source reports that there was a growing tension at the assembly as legislative workers protested against the alleged plans to remove Rt Hon. Meranda as the Speaker of the Assembly.
The legislative workers also clashed with the operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) who, in the early hours of Monday, stormed the assembly and sealed Rt Hon. Meranda’s office alongside that of her Deputy and the Clerk.
Our source had reported how armed security personnel took over the complex at Alausa, Ikeja, leading to palpable tension among the lawmakers and workers of the assembly.
There are indications that the ongoing imbroglio at the assembly following the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker on January 13 has not abated.
The Monday’s drama came a few days after Mr Obasa, who was removed for alleged abuse of office and corruption, dragged the state lawmakers to court, challenging his removal as the Speaker of the Assembly.
There are alleged plans to return Mr Obasa as the Speaker, a development which has further heightened tension at the assembly.
The Tide’s source reports that when Meranda arrived the assembly complex amidst tight security around 11:15 am on Monday, many legislative workers showed solidarity with the first female Speaker over alleged plans to remove her.
“Meranda we want”, “Meranda We want”, the workers were chanting in a short video clip.
Rt Hon. Meranda visibly overwhelmed by emotion was surrounded by her security details amid the chaotic atmosphere.
Inside the chamber, officials of the DSS clashed with the legislative workers, leading to commotion.
The DSS officials, dressed in black jackets and helmets and armed with weapons, struggled with the workers at the door.
The Tide’s source gathered that, with support from the legislative workers, lawmakers had earlier forced their way into the chamber around 12:30 pm.
It was further gathered that Rt Hon Meranda and about 32 members were present at the plenary.
A short video clip of the plenary showed that all the lawmakers in attendance had passed a vote of confidence on Rt Hon Meranda.
“Madam Speaker, all members standing before you, I move a motion to say that we do pass the vote of confidence on Rt Hon Mojisola Lasbat Meranda”, a lawmaker said.
The motion was supported by all members in attendance.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, on Monday, traded words over the alleged killing of three persons.
Members of both parties were locked in battle for the control of some local government secretariats. While two persons were killed in Iragbiji in Boripe Local Government Area, another was killed in Irewole Local Government Area.
There had been tension across the state over the Court of Appeal judgment in respect of the sacked APC council chairmen and councillors.
While the PDP claimed that the Feb. 10 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure, did not reinstate the sacked APC chairmen and councillors elected in 2022, APC insisted on their return.
Speaking with journalists in Iragbiji, Korede Ajeigbe, the commissioner for government affairs and protocol, claimed that two PDP members were killed while trying to prevent APC members from taking over a secretariat.
Mr Ajeigbe also said that six PDP members were seriously injured and were currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
APC, however, alleged that PDP members attacked its members while trying to enforce the Court of Appeal judgment.
Addressing a news conference in Osogbo, Bayo Adeleke, a chieftain of the APC, claimed that one of the party’s prominent members was killed during the crisis.
He also alleged that another member of the party, Remi Omowaye, escaped an assassination attempt in Ilesa.
Mr Adeleke, a former commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, urged the state government to allow peace to reign by allowing the APC chairmen and councillors to return to office.
Another chieftain of the party, Jamiu Olawumi, claimed that APC chairmen had resumed in 15 local governments of the state.
This claim, however, could not be immediately verified.
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, CSP Yemisi Opalola, said she was yet to be briefed on the alleged killings.
Ms Opalola, however, said police officers had been deployed to all the local government secretariats in the state to prevent breakdown of law and order.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ademola Adeleke has directed workers as well as politicians to stay away from local government secretariats to avoid further bloodshed.
Mr Adeleke, in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said only security agents would be allowed to keep watch at the secretariats.
He condoled with families of victims of the crisis.
Leader of the 8th Opobo/Nkoro Legislative Assembly, Barrister Samuel Nengia, has passed a vote of confidence on the Chairman of the LGA, Dr. Enyiada Cookey-Gam, as he marked his first one hundred days in his second term in office.
Speaking with newsmen recently in Port-Harcourt on Dr Cookey-Gam and the celebration of his first one hundred days in office, among other people-oriented development projects and programmes, Nengia argued that the Chairman and his team have recorded unprecedented developmental strides, which includes infrastructure transformation, empowerment, security, human capital development, payment of the approved N85,000. 00 minimum wage to Opobo/Nkoro workers’, among others.
He pointed out that his commendation was apt as the activities of the Chairman had been monitored and discovered to reflect the expectations and yearnings of the people, especially, the promotion of council staff, the refurbishment of the Assembly Complex to standard, the construction of Corpers’ Lodge, the provision of effective transportation system for the well-being of the people in the area.
Hon. Nengia, representing Opobo/Nkoro Ward 6, averred that the people of the LGA could now sleep with their eyes closed owing to Dr Cookey-Gam’s achievements in in the security sector.
He added that the vote of confidence the Council’s number one citizen would strengthen him to deliver more democratic dividends to Opobo/Nkoro people.
He admonished Opobo/Nkoro people to rally support for the Chairman to perform creditably well for the well-being of the electorate in the area.
Meanwhile, Barr. Samuel Nengia, has thanked Governor Siminalayi Fubara for appointing three illustrious sons of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area into positions of trust vis former Commissioner for Education, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo Jaja, as Chairman, Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission; former Secretary of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, Engr. Edward Namiesimagha, as Chairman, Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) and Surveyor Peter Ogolo, as Surveyor-, General of the state.
Hon. Nengia, who described the appointments as well deserved, however, enjoined the appointees to bring their leadership wealth of experience to bear in the herculean tasks of reviving their various areas of jurisdiction.
Bethel Toby