•INEC says IREV not for results collation, labour leaders advised against intimidating voters

•Uzodimma, others absent at peace accord, Diri, Sylva clash, Imo workers, banks shun strike

The Independent National Electoral Commission has insisted that electronic collation of results is illegal in Nigeria.

The commission said this against the backdrop of expectations that the results of Saturday’s off-cycle governorship elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa states would be transmitted electronically.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, made the clarification to one of our correspondents on Wednesday, as the police in Imo State warned the organised labour against intimidating voters during the election in the state.

There has been a clamour for electronic transmission of election results in the country with the issue forming a core plank of the presidential election petitions filed at the Presidential Election Petitions Court by the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party.

But Oyekanmi clarified that the result viewing portal was not for collating election results or determining the winner; neither was the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System an electronic voting machine.

When asked how results from the polling units would be transmitted after voting had been concluded in the governorship polls in the three states, Oyekanmi explained, “Polling unit election results, also known as Form EC8As, will be uploaded directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal from the individual PUs by the presiding officers after the close of poll and declaration of results at that level.

“Presiding Officers are expected to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System to snap the Form EC8A and upload the same to the IReV after the conclusion of all processes at the various polling units.

“However, people need to understand that the IReV is not for collating election results or determining the winner, while the BVAS is also not an electronic voting machine.

IReV portal

“To be sure, electronic voting or collation of results is illegal in Nigeria at the moment. All that the IReV portal does is just to display the Form EC8A uploaded from the polling units for the public to see.

“The process for determining and declaring the winner of a governorship election is well encapsulated in section 179 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Speaking on the logistics arrangement the commission had made for the distribution of materials given the strike declared by the organised labour in Imo State, the chief press secretary noted, “In the area of logistics for Imo State, we already have an agreement with individual vehicle owners and the NURTW (National Union of Road Transport Workers), Imo State Chapter, for forward and reverse logistics.

“We will fulfill all our obligations and we expect the other parties to fulfill their obligations too. We have not received any information to the contrary.”

In readiness for the election, the Imo State Police Command said it would not spare anyone who might want to disrupt the exercise in the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, said the command had carried out heavy deployments across the state following an appraisal of the security situation during the presidential, National, and House Assembly polls conducted earlier in the year.

Speaking on the strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress in the state, he noted that the labour unions lacked the constitutional power to halt an election and cautioned the unions’ leaders against intimidating voters.

Okoye said, “(The) Nigerian Labour Congress can never stop the election from being held in Imo State. They don’t have the constitutional power to stop elections from being held in Imo State. The election will be held successfully in Imo State. The election will be conducted successfully in Imo State.

“We have done an appraisal of the presidential and National House Assembly elections conducted this year which was relatively peaceful. And now we have come up with enhanced security measures to ensure that the election this time around is going to be conducted free, fair, transparent, and will be acceptable at the end of the day.

“I don’t need to mention any areas, but what I can say is that we have done our assessment, and we’re fully prepared, we have prepared enough security on the ground to make sure that the election in Imo State is successful.”

Concerning the threat posed by the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Eastern Security Network, Okoye stated, “We are going to deal ruthlessly with any criminally-minded individual or group of individuals that wants to disrupt the election in Imo state.”

Responding to a question about the security threats in the volatile areas in the three states, the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, noted that the police had beefed up security in all the areas of concern.

He said, “We have done heavy deployments in all areas. DIGs have been charged to head election security management in the affected states.’’

Meanwhile, the industrial action declared by the Organised Labour in Imo State recorded partial compliance as Imo workers, ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as banks, shunned the strike.

Our correspondent who monitored the development in Owerri, the state capital, reported that banks, state government offices, and the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport in Owerri opened for business.

But the courts and schools were shut while students who had gone to school were observed returning home.

There had been a power outage in the state for the past eight days.

Civil servants

A civil servant who confided in our correspondent said that there was a memo mandating employees not to honour the NLC strike.

A source at the Sam Mbakwe cargo airport told our correspondent that flights landed and took off at the airport on Wednesday.

Also, fuel stations opened and dispensed fuel to motorists unhindered in the state capital.

The state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers didn’t join the industrial action.

A group, Imo Patriot League, and other Civil Society Organisations criticised the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and asked him to reconsider the decision of the labour unions to cut electricity supply to the state.

At a press conference in Owerri, on Wednesday, the convener cum spokesperson for the group, Jones Onwuasonya, said that the organized labour’s industrial action had cost the state about N500bn loss.

He said that the economy of the state was shrinking on account of the power outage.

The group accused Ajaero of working with the opposition parties to undermine Governor Hope Uzodimma’s re-election bid.

Onwuasonya said “We find it reprehensible that Comrade Joe Ajaero, an Imo son could bring himself to derail the governorship election because of his personal political agenda, which by all intents and purposes is vindictive and selfish.

‘’The NLC President has not hidden his partisanship, especially as it concerns the upcoming governorship election in Imo State, but we would have expected that he employs democratic methods in campaigning for his candidate instead of abusing his office and exploiting the powers of the labour force to harass and intimidate ordinary Imolites as a way of blackmailing the government of the state.’’

In Lokoja, the 18 political parties participating in the governorship election in Kogi State signed a peace accord on Wednesday.

The accord was the initiative of the National Peace Committee led by former head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar (retd.)

Present at the occasion was Governor Alhaji Yayaha Bello who pledged the commitment of his party, the All Progressive Congress, to a free, fair, and credible election.

Speaking at the ceremony, a former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Cardinal John Onaiyekan emphasised the need for a peaceful election, arguing that no meaningful development could take place in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity.

“The exercise should be an honest and serious commitment by all candidates to ensure a peaceful election and peaceful coexistence even after the election might have been concluded,” he said.

Bello in his address stated, ‘’I stand before today to emphasize the commitment of our party to peace before, during and after the election. I also want to assure you that we in APC are going to abide by this and none of our members will be found wanting before, during and after the election.’’

He said the government had made the state too hot for criminals.

Giving an update on the election security operation in Kogi, the state Commissioner of Police, Bertrand Onuoha, explained that the command had identified several flash points in the Central and the Eastern Senatorial Districts of the state.

The areas, he said, included Olamaboro, Dekina, Ejule in the East and Adavi, Obehira, and Obangede in the Central District.

The commissioner said sufficient personnel would be deployed in the black spots areas, before, during and after the election.

Security agents

He said. ‘’About 40, 000 security operatives will be mobilised for the poll in the state because the election is an off-season one; we will have enough officers available for mobilisation for effective coverage due to the volatile nature of Kogi elections.”

On efforts being made so far, the CP explained that he had met with the Attah Igala, who assured him that he would talk to his subjects about the need to be civil before, during and after the election.

He said the political parties had also been advised to be civil in their campaigns and not use abusive words.

“I have also been meeting with officers and rank and files of all sister security agencies and everyone has been properly briefed about the role they are expected to play during and after the election,’’ he added.

Onuoha sounded a note of warning to those who might be planning to foment trouble during and after the election to have a rethink ‘’because they will not be given a breathing space to do so.’’

Reacting to the calls for his redeployment for being partisan, the CP declared that he was not in the state to serve the interest of any individual or political party but to protect the interest of the people at the instance of the IG.

“He (IG) is the only one who can pass judgment on my performance. So, as long as the IG is satisfied with my performance, I have nothing to worry about,’’ he added.

In a move to ensure a credible and peaceful exercise, the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, Wednesday, held a crucial meeting with key stakeholders in Kogi State.

Disclosing this in a statement, Adejobi, said, “The meeting, which was held in the state capital, brought together various stakeholders including political leaders, representatives of political parties, civil society organizations electoral officials, traditional and religious leaders, youth leaders, and security agencies.

“’The primary goal of this gathering was to engage in constructive dialogue, share information, and strategize on measures to guarantee a free, fair, credible, and peaceful electoral process in the state.

“The IGP also encouraged political leaders to play a significant role in maintaining the peace by promoting a culture of non-violence among their supporters and ensuring that the electoral process is conducted without any form of intimidation or coercion.’’

He further noted that the IG charged the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department to take over the investigation into the armed attack that took place in the Anyigba area of Kogi State on Tuesday.

He added, “During the meeting, the IGP reacting to a trending video of an incident in Anyigba where it was alleged that some armed men attacked the residence of one of the key officials in one of the parties, charged the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department to take over the case for thorough investigation in order to ascertain all parties concerned, their respective levels of involvement and to ensure justice by all means.

“The Inspector General of Police reiterated that the Force is committed to impartiality and neutrality throughout the electoral process and will take decisive action against any person who engages in any form of misconduct or violence. He also charged candidates and their followers to embrace peace as the police and other security agents would not spare anyone caught fomenting troubles during the electioneering process.”

The Force Headquarters also noted that the police had carried out heavy deployments in all areas, including areas prone to violent attacks, adding that three Deputy Inspectors-Generals of Police had been deployed for election security management in the three states.

In response to the incident at Anyigba, the spokesperson for the APC Governorship Campaign Council in Kogi State, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, appealed to the security agencies to absolve its members from the violence that rocked the Kogi East Senatorial zone of the state.

Speaking at a press conference in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Wednesday, he insisted that members of the party were not involved in any violent and terrorist acts in any part of the state.

Fanwo, who is also the state commissioner for Information and Communication, said, “The APC Governorship Campaign Council expressed reservations on the recent security operations in some parts of Kogi East, especially in Dekina Local Government Area where chieftains of our party were arrested for reasons unknown to us.

‘’Our chieftains were not involved in any act inimical to the peace of the state and shouldn’t have been subjected to such treatment. We wouldn’t condone or defend any act of lawlessness, but we make bold to say that our leaders and members who were arrested and detained did not deserve to be subjected to such treatment as they are innocent.

“The arrest of the affected leaders by security agencies was unknown to us because our chieftains were not involved in any act inimical to the peace of the state and shouldn’t have been subjected to such treatment.”

According to him, “In as much as we subscribe to a peaceful and free poll, we also call for responsible conduct on the part of law enforcement agencies in such a way that innocent citizens are not unnecessarily punished for the sins of others”.

“We call on security agencies to release them unconditionally so that they can be reunited with their families. It is not in doubt as to the candidates fanning the embers of violence and division.

“A member of the All Progressives Congress, Khadija, was murdered in cold blood at Koton-care for daring to wear a fez cap with the logo of the All Progressives Congress on the day the bloodsuckers were in town.

“It is sad that security agencies have not informed us how far they have gone in apprehending the trigger-happy thugs that committed the murder.”

Fanwo, however, added that “The leadership of the All Progressives Congress is committed and determined to keep the state within the progressive family, and performance of the APC government in Kogi State has made it almost impossible for the opposition parties to rear their heads.” (The PUNCH)

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