Why we didn’t use server during 2019 elections – INEC

NEWS

Why we didn’t use server during 2019 elections – INEC

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that the late release of budget by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government affected the deployment of servers for the 2019 general elections.

INEC’s National Commissioner in Osun State, Solomon Soyebi, however, admitted that the commission once experimented the electronic transmission of results but it was not deployed in the 2019 general elections.

Soyebi, in a statement he issued, explained that the commission only experimented the use of a server in the Anambra, Sokoto and Osun elections.

According to Soyebi: “We piloted the use of transmission of election results electronically in Sokoto, in Anambra, even in Osun. What happened was that we were trying to pilot to see the desirability of such technology in our electoral process.

“Once in a while, you will see an experiment going on but we have to pilot it before we will deploy wholesale for election. We did not use it because of circumstances beyond the control of the Commission.

“First, our budget came out very late. There was also (an) issue (with) the Electoral Act. For these and some other reasons, the commission did not adopt that option; 2019 elections were conducted according to the law.

“We used the Constitution of the Federal Republic, we used the Electoral Act and our guidelines for 2019 elections. If you look at the three instruments carefully, the issue of the server was not highlighted.”

 

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Presidential election: Nigeria sitting on gunpower – Fani-Kayode warns INEC

POLITICS

Presidential election: Nigeria sitting on gunpower – Fani-Kayode warns INEC

 

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has warned that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder that could trigger and ignite a monumental “cataclysmic explosion, the likes of which have never been seen”.

He said this in reaction to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, claim that they never used a server during the 2019 presidential election.

INEC had told the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that its officials never transmitted election results from their polling units electronically during the just concluded presidential election.

However, Fani-Kayode urged the electoral commission to stop playing with the future of Nigerians.

In a series of tweets, Fani-Kayode wrote: “You said you had a server and told us how much you spent on it. You complained that others had illegally gained access to it and that they ought to be arrested. Yet when the matter got to court, you changed the story and said you have no server. What type of strange abracadabra is this?

“Please stop playing Russian roullete with the future of our country. People’s eyes are open and we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder right now. If care is not taken you will pull the trigger and ignite a monumental and cataclysmic explosion the likes of which have never been seen.”

 

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'We don’t have a server' - INEC replies Atiku

POLITICS

'We don’t have a server' - INEC replies Atiku

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it does not have the server where  the PDP claim results of the presidential election were uploaded.

The electoral commission is reacting to the request of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had asked the tribunal to compel INEC to allow them inspect smart card readers and the server.  

The opposition party and its candidate are challenging the declaration of President Buhari as winner of the presidential election that held in February. At the tribunal on Thursday, Yunus Usman, counsel to INEC, said the party was asking something they did not have.  

“They are asking us to bring something we do not have,” the lawyer said. Usman asked the tribunal to strike out the application. Also, counsels of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Buhari asked the tribunal to strike out the application of the PDP.

They argued that they could not prove the existence of a server. The electoral commission said Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes to defeat the former vice-president who secured 11, 262,978. But Atiku in his application claimed that he polled 18,356,732 votes while Buhari secured 16,741,430, citing INEC’s server.

 

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Okorocha finally sworn in as Senator

POLITICS

Okorocha finally sworn in as Senator

 

The immediate past governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha has eventually been sworn in as Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District.

The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan conducted the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday at the upper legislative chambers.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had issued Certificate of Return to Okorocha a few days ago.

INEC obeyed the directive of the court after its management meeting on Tuesday.

We reported on Friday that the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered INEC to issue Certificate of Return to Okorocha as the duly elected Senator representing Orlu, Imo West Senatorial district.

Justice Okon Abang ruled that the decision to deprive Okorocha of the certificate was “lawless”.

Abang held that only the returning officer of INEC had the constitutional authority to declare a winner.

 

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Akpabio reveals who is behind his lost in 2019 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom

POLITICS

Akpabio reveals who is behind his lost in 2019 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom

 

The Senator, who represented Akwa Ibom north-west district in the 8th National Assembly, Godswill Akpabio, has said God will soon expose those who “fraudulently orchestrated” his defeat during the 2019 general elections.

Akpabio stated this at Ukana, Essien Udim local government area of the state, while empowering some of his constituents.

The former Governor of the state accused the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner of the state, Mike Igini, of denying him of the mandate freely given to him.

He described Igini as the “most compromised electoral officer in Nigeria and should not be allowed to hold public office”.

“Please nobody should have any headache, nobody should cry because there is no need. You know your Senator cannot lose election because we were all there.

“But many of them thought they can go and write whatever they like and even cancel what you won. I have never in my life experienced a resident electoral commissioner like Mike Igini and my message to him is that his hypocrisy will be exposed.

“There is no way you can come into Akwa Ibom and commit that kind of electoral fraud you committed then you go back to Channels Television and sit down and talk as if you are a pope.

“Very soon the world will know… All the materials we are recovering everyday will expose you.

“Just yesterday, the police arrested people carrying materials from where they voted and were trying to sneak into INEC. The other day, they arrested someone with card readers. He was frantically calling and trying to say that they were used for training three months after election so that they will continue to manipulate,” Akpabio said.

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Mantu Election Rigging Confession Place Him On A Hot Seat

​BREAKING NEWS

Mantu Election Rigging Confession Place Him On A Hot Seat

Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, has reacted to the confession by a former Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, that he rigged election for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the past.

The organisation also supported plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor the source of funds for campaigns by political parties and thwart the influence of illicit campaign monies in the electoral process.

Its Chairperson, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, in a statement, said: “As we wait for Senator Mantu and his co-travelers in the business of rigging elections to discharge their moral burden, we call on all stakeholders to be vigilant as the 2019 electoral process shapes up.

“He also has a patriotic duty to name all INEC staff, and members of the security agencies who participated in the various schemes aimed at subverting the vote of the people.

“While some may argue that those issues are in the past now, proper repentance and restitution implies that all those involved have to account for their actions.

“TMG makes no mistake about the fact that there are still vestiges of die-hard election riggers, who unlike Senator Mantu, may just not be ready to confess their infractions on the laws of the land.”

Akiyode-Afolabi said Mantu’s confessions deserve a deeper scrutiny from the authorities, if Nigerians were to get a sense of closure from the terrible events of the recent years, when politicians subverted the democratic choices and aspirations of Nigerians by corrupting the electoral process.

According to her, Mantu’s confession goes to the heart of the problem of morally bankrupt political leadership, which has been the cog of Nigeria’s nation building, since the return of democracy in 1999.

“The last time we checked, using bribes to tamper with the electoral process and all actions undermining the vote of the people, are crimes punishable by the extant laws of the land.

“Sections 124 and 130 of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended make it punishable offences for anyone to pay or receive bribes to influence the outcome of elections.”

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Why INEC Cannot Investigate Mantu - Osaze-Uzzi

​BREAKING NEWS

Why INEC Cannot Investigate Mantu - Osaze-Uzzi

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has explained why it cannot investigate a former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, who recently confessed to rigging previous elections in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, spoke in a chat with Punch.

“if any security agency sends a report to the commission regarding Mantu’s claim, then INEC will take action. We are not an investigative body. We can only prosecute when investigation had been concluded”, he said.

“The security agencies have to investigate first and when they have concluded their investigation, they will send the case files to us and if there is a case that has been established, we will prosecute.”

“For now, we don’t regard the telecast as an admission of crime until we receive a complaint following which we would invite Mantu and interrogate him”.

Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society groups, OurMumuDonDo, led by Charly boy, on Friday demanded the prosecution of the former Senate President.

In a letter to INEC chairman, Yakubu Mahmood, the coalition demanded that Mantu be arraigned for allegedly “subverting the will of the people during several elections.”

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The Group TD Charges INEC To Collaborate With EFCC, ICPC To Curb Electoral Fraud

​BREAKING NEWS

The Group TD  Charges INEC To Collaborate With EFCC, ICPC To Curb Electoral Fraud

 

A human rights group, The Democrat (TD) has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to collaborate with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), to curb electoral corruption in the forthcoming general elections in 2019.

The group also called on the National Assembly to empower INEC in the fight against electoral corruption, through prompt passage of relevant laws to check electoral fraud.

Spokesman of the group, Comrade Kehinde Ojoawo in a statement  made on Wednesday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, said INEC and the National Assembly must collaborate with anti-graft agencies to enforce laws regulating the maximum expenditure on election and forbid all forms of material and financial inducement by money bags at party level and polling booth.

The aim of such collaboration, according to Ojoawo, was to “minimise the influence of money in 2019 general elections.”

He further urged “INEC to shun corruption and be on top of situation regarding the conduct of elections in the country.”

He expressed concern over electoral violence.

While describing violence as a threat to the credibility of elections and political participation, Ojoawo called on INEC to “tackle electoral violence by sanctioning political parties and candidates that make use of thugs in election.”

Ojoawo said “INEC must ensure proper monitoring of campaign of all the political parties and candidates. We are also calling on the electoral body to collaborate with armed forces to guarantee adequate security in the 2019 general election”.

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2019 Election: INEC Ends First Quarter Voters Registration

​BREAKING NEWS

2019 Election: INEC Ends First Quarter Voters Registration

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday said ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) for the first quarter in 2018, which began on January 8, has successfully ended.

Mrs. Ndidi Okarfor, Head, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) told newsmen in Abuja that the exercise ended for the quarter on March 22.

According to Okafor, the registration was programmed quarterly.

“What the commission is set to do now is the display of preliminary voter register so that people can check their information and note the possible mistakes for correction.

“During this period, people who registered in the first quarter are required to check if their names are spelt correctly and their dates of birth and other information are properly captured.

“This is also the time to identify other irregularities borne out of double registration, capturing of non-Nigerians, among other things,’’ she said.

Okafor disclosed that the registration would resume immediately after the Easter break, on April 3.

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2019 Election: Buhari Speaks On Turning Down Electoral Act Amendment Bill

BREAKING NEWS

2019 Election: Buhari Speaks On Turning Down Electoral Act Amendment Bill

President Muhammadu Buhari has listed reasons he refused to assent to the electoral act amendment bill sent to him by the National Assembly.

President Buhari on Tuesday, turned down the bill in a letter to the national assembly. 

Some of the reasons as read out on the floor by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Buhari said, “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the Senate, my decision, on 3rd March 2018, to decline Presidential Assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly.

Some of my reasons include the following:

“The amendment to the sequence of elections in Section 25 of the principal act, may infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize, undertake and supervise elections provided in Section 15(A) of the third statue to the Constitution;

“The amendment to Section 138 of the principal act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, unduly limits the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process;

“The amendment to Section 152 Subsection 325 of the Principal Act may raise Constitutional issues over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over local government elections.”

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