The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has discovered 47,633 double voter registrations on its portal for the Ekiti State election.

INEC’s Head, Information and Communication Technology, Titilayo Oderinde, who made tthis known at a workshop, organised for journalists in in Ado Ekiti yesterday, June 4, ahead of the forthcoming governorship poll, said that the registration of those affected have been invalidated with the aid of Bimodal Voter Authentication System (BVAS) invented by INEC in order to prevent double voting during the election.

Titilayo Oderinde, while elucidating on the BVAS application and its significance to the credibility of elections, said that no individual could exercise double franchise during election, with the help of the ICT innovation.

“During the just-concluded continuous voter registration exercise, a total of 124,963 people registered in Ekiti.

“However, it will surprise you that when the figure was subjected to BVAS scrutiny, a total of 47,633 people were discovered to have registered twice and removed from the total number that registered.

“This is not peculiar to a particular gender, as the offence was committed by both genders.

“But, I see no reason why people should be doing this when they can approach the commission for migration of their polling units, even if they have left their environment for other locations,” Oderinde said.

Also addressing the participants, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ekiti, Dr Adeniran Tella, appealed to voters not to treat their PVCs as instruments for mere identification, saying that they were to be used to vote on election day.

“PVCs are not designed as identification cards. They are for voting. We want to do away with this voter apathy and we are starting with Ekiti election,” he said.

Tella, however, saluted the women for participating well in the registration, saying that 71 per cent of them had collected their PVCs.

“We are assuring people living with disabilities (PLWDs) that their interests will be protected by the commission.

“They are Nigerians with inalienable rights to vote and we shall provide enabling environment for them to vote in this election. We have made adequate provisions for them,” he said.

Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, also said that part of the constitutional frameworks for the success of any election was freedom of the press.

He, however, warned that this should not be abused in order to prevent violence during elections.

“Before journalists can monitor elections in any state, they must have good knowledge of the social, political, economic and geographical compositions of such state.

“They must also understand the security situation, because it differs from state to state.

“They must equally have deep knowledge of the laws guiding the conduct of elections and must know what they permit regarding the information they dish out.

“Media practitioners are not permitted to give out any information that can mislead the populace and ignite violence on the day of election. They have to be accurate,” he said.

Okoye appealed to media practitioners to be neutral, non-partisan, ethical and professional in the discharge of their duties during the forthcoming election in the state.

This, he said, had become imperative so that an election that would be acceptable to all could be conducted. nan.

Source: NAN.

Mallam Ya’u Darazo, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Special Duties, has visited his anger on those he described as mischievous media and opponents of a front line Presidential aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who he said misrepresented his recent comments in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

In a statement, Darazo, who is a supporter of the presidential ambition of Tinubu, said that the distortion of what the front line presidential aspirant said was a dubious attempt to cause discord between him and President Buhari.

Saying that he is speaking for himself as a member of the team working for Tinubu’s campaign, Darazo remarked: “Let me start with a disclaimer. I am issuing this statement in my personal capacity. This is very important before mischief makers start attributing it to some other persons.

For the avoidance of doubts, I am a supporter of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I, therefore, belong to the Team assiduously working for Asiwaju’s 2023 Presidential Project. On his mandate I stand!!”

The Buhari aide recalled that while addressing party delegates and supporters in Abeokuta, Tinubu merely referred to his contribution to the formation of APC and how his support made it possible for President Buhari to be elected President in 2015 having lost in three previous attempts in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

“ Tinubu’s address which was made in Yoruba was taking out of context by opponents and mischief makers to damage his standing with the President.”

Darazo said that President Buhari can see through the mischief having being a victim of misresprentation himself in the past and no ill-motivated plot can destroy the relationship between Buhari and Tinubu.

“In the last 48 hours or so the media space has been polluted by the odious breath of mischief makers-nay ingrates? Who mispresented Asiwaju’s speech with the sole aim of planting discord between him and President Muhammadu Buhari. In their mischievous mind, that would earn them added advantage in the primaries for the Ticket of the APC.

“I have a message for them. They have failed woefully. They should not take Nigerians for granted; Nigerians are wise enough. Let the mischief makers note that, good and purposeful leadership is not on the same page with mischief. It’s good that Nigerians know them early enough. It’s very clear that their purpose of seeking leadership is not service driven.

“I was with Asiwaju in Abeokuta among other good people of Ogun State when he delivered the speech in question. It was in Yoruba Language. It was later translated to me—which I found quite acceptable and politically relevant to audience and even beyond. Truth is Sacred. If the mischief makers think that by mispresenting Asiwaju’s Statement they will get the sympathy of the President; they have failed again—and failed woefully.

“President Buhari is not a stranger to the bashing of media mischief. He is a veteran. He passed through it. He suffered from it like no other leader in this country. When he sees media mischief, he would know it; certainly, like this one against Asiwaju.”

Citing examples of how President Buhari had been unfairly misrepresented in the past just to damage him politically, Darazo said that Buhari was presented to Nigerians as a religious bigot when he addressed a Muslim event in Sokoto in 2002.

“Let me for now give only three examples;

“Firstly, few years ago, President Buhari delivered an address in Hausa language to a Muslim event in Sokoto. He urged Muslims to actively participate in politics particularly at the local levels and not only that, they should present some of their best in order to improve the quality governance at the local government and states assembly levels.

“The mischief makers went to town propagating that General Buhari as he was then addressed, had urged Muslims to vote Muslims only. Their mission like this one on Asiwaju was to stop General Buhari’s success by putting his opponent on an added advantage.

“Secondly, also some few years back in an election of a certain constituency in Kaduna State, members of the defunct ANPP in that constituency mobilised themselves to protect their votes against the serial onslaught and rigging machine of the PDP. At the end of the day, PDP had no alternative but let the then INEC declared ANPP candidate as winner.

After the declaration, the people came to see General Buhari. He addressed them in Hausa language, part of which he humorously quoted the Hausa proverb regarding Baboon and Dog; one defending his life and the other determine to have a meal. Again, the mischief makers went to town misinterpreting his speech. The same way they are now doing against Asiwaju. They said General Buhari was mobilising northerners for bloody and violence election. Again, they wanted to put General Buhari on disadvantage against the PDP candidate.

“And thirdly, as far back as 1984 when General Buhari was the Head of State. Some elements within the system, who were against his programmes and therefore determined to discredit him went on to harass late Chief Awolowo and late Sheikh Mahmud Gumi, after which they went into town mischievously propagating that the Head of State had concluded arrangement to detain and humiliate them. Curious enough, some of these elements of the 1984 project are still around. They are very active members of the PDP and are opposing all what President Buhari stood for. These powerful elements are said to have recruited agents within the APC to do two projects for them. Ensure that APC produce a weak candidate that will give PDP a walkover. Secondly to ensure APC produce a Northern candidate so that they will turn round and accuse the President as a Northern irredentist who denied shift of power to the South.”