European Union Chief Election Observer in Nigeria, Mr. Santiago Fisas has said that despite the hiccups in the use of card reader, in today’s electoral process, it is still the best form of accrediting voters.
Fisa who spoke to newsmen today shortly after monitoring the exercise at Model Secondary School, in Maitama district of Abuja commended the “courage” of Nigerians to exercise their right to vote.
He said that the accreditation of voters was slow but that the card reader would ensure the integrity of the election processes.
“I can tell you that many of the polling units were not ready. Because sometimes the INEC people were not ready, sometimes the materials were not ready. That sort of complicated things, but now, hopefully, things are going on.
“The machine is a little complicated, obviously to prevent fraud. But sometimes it fails, sometimes you put a finger it fails, you put the next, it says ‘okay’. Even if the machine is failing, it is good for the accreditation.”
The EU chief said his mission would be to stay in Nigeria throughout the elections and “follow up” the process, but that he and his deputy will return to Nigeria in July to present their recommendation to whoever becomes president. [myad]
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the extension of voting in the on-going Presidential and National Elections to tomorrow, Sunday.
All Resident Electoral Commissioners in the country have therefore been directed to conduct election on Sunday in areas where there were hitches.
Chairman of INEC Committee on Information and Voters Education, Mr. Chris Iyimoga while addressing journalists in Abuja this evening, said with some hitches in some parts of the country, there was no way the Presidential and National Assembly Elections could be concluded today.
“Each REC has been informed to conduct election on Sunday where there are hitches with accreditation or voting. I cannot say exactly the number of states affected but the problems are not in all the states,” Iyimoga said. [myad]
Some PDP members caught thump printing ballot papers at the Divisional Police Headquarters Kpor in Gokana Local Government Area in today’s election for President and members of National Assembly. It was in the same place that Senator Magnus Abe and the CTC Chairman, Kadilo Kabari were allegedly attacked. [myad]
Hackers have succeeded in bulldozing their way into the official website of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) www.inecnigeria.org url. The site is now displaying the name of the hackers: Nigerian Cyber Army.
The hackers have posted their own message on the site. They also posted a cartoon of President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari, on a football field.
They wrote: “Its 2015 Elections And We Are Here AGain But This Time In A Different Form, APC Claimed They Hacked Into INEC DATABASE But We Own The DATABASE Long Before Now So No Worries No Fear To All NIGERIANs…GO And Cast Your Vote And We Assure You That Your Vote Must Count Because We Are The Kings Of The NIgerRian CYber SPACE. “NOTE: WE GAT ACCESS TO OTHER HIGH RANKING NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT SERVERS, BUT WE ARE NOT HERE FOR THAT TODAY!. INEC DONT TRY TO RIG BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU DAY AND NIGHT FOR MONTHS NOW BUT DONT BE SCARED WE MEAN NO HARM COS IF YOU ATTEMPT TO RIG YOU WILL PAY!! “WE ARE THE THE VOICE OF THE YOUTHs!! WE ALSO USE THIS MEDIUM TO ADVICE ALL POLITICAL PARTIES: WHO PRICE GO PAY. WE DO NOT FORGIVE, WE DO NOT FORGET EXPECT US!”
The Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, confirmed the incidence in a text message, saying: “Hacked will be up soon.”
INEC was said to have retrieved the server later in the day. [myad]
Suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram today threw bomb at a polling station in the villages of Birnin Bolawa and Birnin Fulani in the Nafada district of Gombe state, killing at least two people.
The suspected Boko Haram members were said to have launched the attack just as voters queued up to be accredited for the election.
An election official, who requested anonymity, said: “We could hear the gunmen (Boko Haram) shouting, ‘didn’t we warn you about staying away from the election?'”
Meanwhile, Governor Adams Oshiomhole has described as shocking the reports that accredited INEC officials were restricted and stopped by some soldiers from conducting their lawful duties in parts of Edo North.
The Governor who noted that the soldiers must have got an illegal order from their Commander recalled how he had warned just yesterday that Brigadier Odidi has chosen to “frustrate this exercise in Edo North. Ironically, Brigadier Odidi is from Agenebode and he is the one who is giving this unlawful order.”
INEC officials who were taking election materials to Ward 10, Unit 1 in Iyamho, Etsako West Local Government Area were stopped by soldiers who had laid siege to the home town of Governor Adams Oshiomhole. The INEC officials told reporters that were forced to sit on the ground, alongside their police escort for several hours.
They were later allowed to leave after they got calls from their superiors. The soldiers said they were acting on strict orders from above.
Even journalists were not spared the soldiers’ ordeal as the INEC accreditation cards and reflective jackets were ignored while each reporter was asked to produce their company ID cards. The soldiers said the reporters were not permitted to monitor the exercise from one unit to another as they were only allowed to monitor a particular unit.
Miffed by the restriction of INEC officials, Oshiomhole continued, “Why the Nigerian Army will be used in this manner, only God knows. So I am surprised that they are restricting INEC Officers from distributing materials.
I have told the Brigade Commander and I am waiting to see what he is going to do but when you bear in mind that time is if the essence, if we finally go and beg the General to please allow democracy, time is gone.
First there is no light across the country so we are going to have everywhere in the dark. Under such situation, nobody knows what happens but I refuse to be frustrated and I appeal to our people not to be frustrated, we will sort things out.
“It is clear they have serious problem taking off. As you can see I am here and they say the card reader is not well programmed, it is not functioning and I got report from my Ward Headquarters that there are materials that are there and apparently the returning officers are trapped there because the soldiers wouldn’t let them cross their barricade. From Apana the Ward Headquarters to this place, my voting centre takes about 10 minutes because of the good roads we have done.”
“I have complained to the soldiers here. I have also called the Brigade Commander to draw his attention to it. This one is completely incomprehensible because I do not know what the briefing of the Army is but what Professor Jega said is that in the event of a machine not working, they have spare to use and they have officers who would put them to work.
“Now if the Army is blocking INEC officials from moving, this is a new dimension that we have not heard of before and I thought the business of the Army is basically to check people who are carrying offensive weapons, I do not know if card reader is now an offensive weapon. I have complained to the Brigade Commander, Major General Olaleye and you have also heard me mentioning it to the Electoral Officer (E.O).
“My appeal; our people have a proverb that when you know that enemies are surrounding you, you do not go and rub yourself with an inflammable chemical such that when they just push you a little bit and you sit near fire, you get roasted.
There is no doubt there are enemies of democracy, there is no doubt there are people who do no want free and fair elections and therefore I am not going to lend support by way of any comment that will readily suit the expectation of those who are anti-democratic.
“I have spoken to the INEC REC in Benin and I believe that Professor Jega the Chairman should be aware of what is going on in Edo where card readers are not working in many places.
“We have gotten reports from Benin and across the state and it appears the problem is rather widespread but it is my hope that INEC has sensible alternatives to invoke when we are in this kind of critical condition.
“I want to appeal to Nigerians, we have suffered enough. One more day of suffering will not kill us so let us exercise all the patience that we can, let’s refuse to be frustrated, let us not resort to a shouting match. By the Grace of God, God will not leave us hopeless.
“As leaders we must provide leadership role, more so at this hour. I have faith in democracy, it is not a choice, it is the only option. All of us have to be ready to sacrifice the day. I am very impressed seeing ordinary people queue up patiently to vote.
These are farmers who if they don’t work, they don’t earn. They are not like urban people who put pen to paper and steal money and earn even without working. If they sleep, their production will sleep. So they donate their production today for Nigeria’s democracy and this is what they get, but I am happy that they are not fighting.”
This is even as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Jigawa State, Alhaji Halliru Aliyu Tambuwal has announced the suspension of the conduct of election into the eleven federal constituencies in the state as a result of dearth of voting materials.
The suspension, according to Tambuwal, became necessary because INEC, which was ready to conduct the presidential poll in the state, wants to rectify the problems before embarking on the exercise.
No new date has been fixed for the election. [myad]
“There may be an issue. Maybe it’s me?” these are the words of President Goodluck Jonathan when the card reader, introduced for the first time in accreditation for election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected him and his wife, Dame Patience as they turned out early today to get accredited for the ongoing election at his Otuoke home country.
The handheld technology being used to “read” biometric voter identity cards apparently malfunctioned and forced President Jonathan to stand around in the scorching heat before leaving almost an hour later.
The President acknowledged that “there may be an issue” and added jokingly: “Maybe it’s me?”
“If I can endure, you see my sweat? I plead with all Nigerians to be patient, no matter the pains we take,” he told reporters outside the polling station.
“It’s the first time we are using this technology, PVCs (permanent voters card), card readers,” he said, adding that he was “not worried.”
President Jonathan who later returned and was accredited using the old manual system said: “because it (the card reader) is new, anything new must have its challenges.”
Meanwhile, the main opposition candidate for the Presidency, General Muhammadu Buhari, whose party backs the technology, had no problem getting accredited in his hometown of Daura, in Katsina state.
Reports reaching us indicated that there were problems in the city of Kano, where tensions rose among thousands of voters who had been waiting for election officials and materials to turn up.
“We’ve been here since six o’clock and now it’s half-past nine,” fumed Ismail Omar, a 65-year-old builder. “No one has shown up from INEC.
“They told us accreditation will start at eight then end at one, and so far we think something is fishy. This is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the elections.”
Another voter, Mohammed Awwal, said: “We don’t want to fight anyone but are ready to die to defend our rights.
“This is our fundamental right that is being denied for whatever reason.” [myad]
Wife of Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Nigeria’s Vice President, Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo is being accredited at a polling station in Zaria preparatory to casting her vote later today. Her husband (in the middle) looks on with admiration. [myad]
The police in Rivers State have said no gunshots were fired at the convoy of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi as claimed by his aides, explaining that it was actually Amaechi’s security that shot into the air.
The governor’s media aides had yesterday evening issued a release stating that gun shots were fired at Amaechi while he was on a door-to-door campaign at Rumuolumeni in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the State.
But in a press release issued in Port Harcourt today, the police, signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ahmad Muhammad, said: “The Rivers State Police Command wishes to react to the news that went viral on both normal and social media quoting David Iyofor, Chief Press Secretary to Rivers State Governor to the effect that gun shots were fired at the convoy of his principal at Rumuolumeni, Obio/Akpor Local Government.
“To put the records straight, after a successful and peaceful rally under the close watch of policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer of the area, shots were indiscriminately fired from the convoy of the Governor for reasons best known to them, as against the wispy claim of David Iyofor. No shots were fired at the convoy of the Governor.
“The false alarm which is the usual penchant of the State Government may not be unconnected with the bogus claim of assassination attempt by his principal that is to just whip up public sympathy.
“The Command urges politicians to refrain from whipping sentiments by toying with security issues to create needless public panic, where there is none, please.”
The two leading candidates for the President elections in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday have been described as starkly different: one a Christian politician who has struggled with the growing Boko Haram Islamist insurgency; the other is a Muslim and former military ruler known for a crackdown on corruption but also for allegations of serious human rights abuses.
The elections are critically important not just for the country but also for the region.
Here are profiles of the two candidates.
Goodluck Jonathan
Jonathan, 57, the current president, is a soft-spoken Christian from the oil-rich Niger Delta in the south. He earned a PhD in zoology and taught and worked on environmental issues before entering politics. He was governor of Bayelsa state from 2005 to 2007, and served as vice president of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was sworn in as president upon the death of his predecessor, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, in 2010, and won a four-year term in elections in 2011. His popularity has declined since then as Boko Haram has killed thousands in the north, and corruption scandals have erupted. He belongs to the People’s Democratic Party.
Muhammadu Buhari
Buhari, 72, is a Muslim from northern Katsina state. A retired general, he won fame in 1983 when his troops drove off Chadian soldiers who were trying to annex Nigerian islands in Lake Chad. He became leader of Nigeria after a military coup in December 1983 and ruled until 1985, when he himself was overthrown. During his time as head of state, Buhari cracked down on corruption and was famous for his “War Against Indiscipline,” which featured unusual punishments such as requiring bureaucrats to do frog jumps if they got to work late. His administration jailed critics and repressed the media. He has run unsuccessfully for president three times. Last year, he survived an assassination attempt by Boko Haram. He belongs to the All Progressives Congress.
The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has appealed to Nigerians to eschew violence as the Africa’s largest democracy goes to poll tomorrow saying that irrespective of “their religious, ethnic and political affiliations they should embrace peace and ensure the safety of one another before, during and after the elections”.
Oritsejafor, in a statement today reminded Nigerians of the violence that followed the 2011 presidential election, adding that both Christians and Muslims have the responsibility to ensure the elections are peaceful.
“God instructed in the Holy Bible and Koran that we should be our brothers’ keepers.
“Christians and Muslims must resolve to protect each other. We must ensure that Christians are safe in Muslim areas and vice versa. Nobody must be victimized on the basis of religion or ethnicity,” he said.
“While rights of individuals should be respected, CAN believes that Nigerians must be given their rights to vote for whoever they want. We call on Nigerians to vote according to their conscience in line with democratic principles and not through coercion.
“Our advice is vote and protect your votes, but avoid acts of violence that could threaten a credible electoral exercise,” he added.
He appealed to Nigerians to support the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct credible elections. The security agencies must also ensure citizens are protected during the elections, Mr. Oritsejafor added.
He expressed confidence that the elections, commencing in hours’ time, will not lead to the disunity of Nigeria.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
