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BREAKING: BVAS glitches over – INEC *Mum on real time results uploads for March 11 polls
Nigerians seems to have been left in the dark regarding whether the results of the Saturday, March 11 governorship and Houses of Assembly election would be transmitted real time, as there was no definite words on that from Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday.
At a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the electoral umpire, there was no definite instruction on what to do regarding the procedure, which remained one of the biggest slurs of the February 25 presidential election, in which Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner.
At the meeting, where he read the riot act to electoral officers to conduct themselves well during the coming exercise, the INEC boss, only scraped at the issue, saying the glitches witnessed in the last election had been cured, without speaking directly to the issue of real time upload of results.
Here is the text of the full speech of the chairman at the meeting, held in Abuja: “This is our 3rd meeting in less than two months. Like the last two meetings, the purpose is to discuss the conduct of the 2023 General Election. Arising from the Presidential and National Assembly elections held a week ago, and with the Governorship and State Assembly elections holding next week, it is imperative to review performance and assess preparations.
“No doubt, last week’s national elections raised a number of issues that require immediate, medium, and long-term solutions. The planning for the election was painstakingly done. However, its implementation came with challenges, some of them unforeseen. The issues of logistics, election technology, behaviour of some election personnel at different levels, attitude of some party agents and supporters added to the extremely challenging environment in which elections are usually held in Nigeria.
“We appreciate the sacrifice and doggedness of Nigerians and the dignity and maturity displayed by political leaders even in the context of divergent views about the election. A lot of lessons have been learnt. Of immediate concern to the Commission is how the identified challenges can be addressed as we approach the concluding phase of the General Election involving the largest number of constituencies i.e. 28 State Governorship elections and 993 State Houses of Assembly seats.
“In last Saturday’s elections, winners have also been declared for 423 national legislative seats while supplementary elections will be held in 46 constituencies. In the Senate, 98 out of 109 seats have been declared. So far, seven political parties have won senatorial seats while in the House of Representatives, 325 out of 360 seats have been won by eight political parties.
In terms of party representation, this is the most diverse national assembly since 1999 as can be seen from the tabular summary below:
Senate House of Reps
Party Seats Party Seats
APC 57 ADC 2
APGA 1 APC 162
LP 6 APGA 4
NNPP 2 LP 34
PDP 29 NNPP 18
SDP 2 PDP 102
YPP 1 SDP 2
YPP 1
“Certificates of Return will be presented to Senators-elect on Tuesday 7th March 2023 at 11.00am at the National Collation Centre (the International Conference Centre), Abuja, while Members of the House of Representatives-elect will receive theirs the following day, Wednesday 8th March 2023, at 11.00am at the same venue. However, for effective crowd management, each Senator/Member-elect should be accompanied by a maximum of two guests. The comprehensive list of all members-elect will be uploaded to the Commission’s website shortly.
“As we approach the Governorship and State Assembly elections, we must work harder to overcome the challenges experienced in the last election. Nothing else will be acceptable to Nigerians. All staff found to be negligent, whether they are regular or ad hoc officials, including Collation and Returning Officers, must not be involved in forthcoming elections. RECs must also immediately initiate disciplinary action where prima facie evidence of wrongdoing has been established.
“Election Day logistics must be finalised days before the election and handled by the Electoral Officers (EOs) at Local Government level. This has been our standard practice. Centralising the process as was done in some States resulted in delayed deployment of personnel and materials and late commencement of polls. RECs will be held responsible for any tardy arrangement or the failure to deploy electric power generators to collation centres or polling units where such facilities are needed. The Commission has enough facilities in all the States of the Federation. Failure to deploy them is simply inexcusable.
“Refresher training must be conducted for ad hoc staff that participated in the last election. Where they are replaced for good reason, they must be properly trained so that processes are not delayed or compromised at any stage.
“Arising from last week’s election, the Commission has received reports from our State offices well as complaints and petitions from political parties and candidates. Where infractions of any kind are proven, there will be redress. I must add that any action taken by the Commission is without prejudice to the rights of parties and candidates to seek further remedy as provided by law.
“On Election Day technology, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will once again be deployed for voter accreditation and result management. The deployment of BVAS has gone a long way to sanitise voter accreditation as can be seen from the result of recent elections. Since last week, the Commission has intensified the review of the technology to ensure that glitches experienced, particularly with the upload of results are rectified. We are confident that going forward the system will run optimally.
“Once again, the Commission would like to appreciate the patience and understanding of Nigerians. We do not take this for granted. We equally appreciate the patriotism of political, traditional, religious and community leaders that appealed for calm. Similarly, the Commission appreciates the role of heads of election observation missions, some of whom are still in the country. We appeal to such missions to consider extending their observations to the Governorship and State Assembly elections not only because they form an integral part of the General Election for which they are accredited but also because they are as important as the national elections.
“In the same vein, the Commission appreciates all domestic observers for their preliminary reports which will help us enormously as we conclude the 2023 General Election. We look forward to the full reports. We similarly appreciate the media for the extensive coverage of the election and the analyses by informed Nigerians and friends of Nigeria on the processes. We wish to assure you that we will continue to engage with you and all segments of the Nigerian society in a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder review of the election in earnest.”
The much-awaited flight on Abuja-London route for Air Peace, the Nigerian-owned entity, which recently began operations on the Lagos-London space, will soon commence as the airline has secured the nod of the Federal Government to go full blast with the operation.
Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, who gave the indication, when he appeared as a guest on Politics Today a current affairs programme on Channels Television, on Thursday, said the competition that would arise from the development was good for not only the industry, but Nigerians, billed to benefit from it.
A palpably upbeat Keyamo, told his host: “Just yesterday (Wednesday), I approved Air Peace for the Abuja-London route, not only Lagos-London route. British Airways also come to Abuja. So, let Air Peace block that path and start a war. It’s all for the good of Nigerians.”
Keyamo, who argued that there was no reason to restrict the Nigerian airline to Gatwick, its current destination, maintained that in time, it would also be flying into Heathrow Airport, acing that the current situation was just a low-hanging fruit and a starting point for now.
In fact, Keyamo, who spoke against the backdrop of many complaints by Allen Onyema, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the airline about attempts to frustrate the operation, stated that Nigeria was currently reviewing its Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the UK and Nigeria, to address all issues, adding that some decisions would be made at the conclusion of the review.
On March 30, 2024, Air Peace reciprocated the lopsided Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Kingdom when the local airline began direct flight operations from Lagos to Gatwick Airport in London.
The development has been applauded by many industry observers, with more local airlines being encouraged to commence international flights to profitable routes.
The price of an international flight ticket on the Lagos-London route was as high as N3.5 million, but with Air Peace pegging a return economy class ticket for N1.2 million, foreign airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Qatar Airways have been forced to slash their prices to stay competitive.
The entrance of Air Peace on the London route has sparked a price war, with foreign carriers now underpricing to stay in business. On this, Keyamo said the government has been observing the unfolding events and would support Air Peace with all federal might.
No fewer than 10 brand new aircrafts have been ordered by the Akwa Ibom State Government, owners of Ibom Air, one of the operators on the Nigerian domestic air business, in what Umo Eno, Governor of the state, said was an effort to expand its operations.
Eno, who was a guest of Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, on Thursday, was speaking on the efforts the government was making to improve and expand the operations of the entity, the only state-owned airline in the country.
The governor, who said the first batch of the order had since arrived and would soon resume operation after passing all the checks by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), explained that the state was not yet looking at drawing money from the airline but rather reinvesting all profits to expand the airline, he added: “You have to know that Ibom Air keeps expanding. So, for the government, we are not setting up right now to begin to earn naira and kobo. When we make profit, we will put the profit back to keep expanding operations.”
Against the backdrop of an incident involving one of the planes belonging to the airline in Lagos at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos on Thursday, the governor maintained that safety had remained the major priority of the airline, adding that none of its planes was allowed to take off without comprehensive safety checks carried out.
In a post on his X account, a former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, had narrated how a ground engineer saved travellers including himself on an Abuja-bound Ibom Air flight from a “potential disaster.”
Abah, who had narrated how the aircraft was already taxiing before a loud knock from outside by the ground engineer forced the pilot to halt the aircraft, said the ground engineer told the pilot that he could not leave because his landing gear was bad.
But Eno, in a quick riposte, said: “For us in Ibom Air, we do all our checks before the aircraft departs and all of the approvals are always done. So, what you are talking about right now (the Lagos incident), I think it is as a result of the checks they did.
“I don’t have the full details but we will not (allow) the departure of any aircraft if we don’t follow all of the procedures. All the engineers and everyone sign off before the aircraft departs.”
The controversy surrounding the alleged pillaging of a whopping N107billion, raised by Alex Otti against Okezie Ikpeazu, his predecessor, took a new turn on Thursday, with stakeholders in Nigeria’s civil society wading into the matter with a demand for all the documents relating to it.
Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy (CFR&PA), a Pro-democracy, human rights, anti-corruption and public interest advocacy group, in a letter to the governor, who made the mind-boggling revelation, particularly demanded access to the Forensic Audit Report (FAR), detailing the particulars of the said fraud.
The letter, which came under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, also copied to Kenneth Kalu, Secretary to State Government (SSG) and Ikechukwu Uwanna, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, was signed by Ukpai Ukairo, Member, Board of Trustees, of the group.
Entitled: Application for access to records under the section 1 and 3 of the Freedom of Information Act, the letter dated 23-04-2024, which the group indicated was received, stamped the next day, read: “We respectfully apply for access to the following records, to wit: A copy of the Forensic Audit Report which Governor Alex Otti, the Executive Governor of Abia State referred to and relied upon in his Town Hall Meeting in the United States of America to allege that His Excellency, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration paid billions of Naira for an airport and to un-named contractors,
“The Letter of appointment of the Audit Firm that carried out the Forensic Audit as required under the Public Procurement Act, The voucher/s showing the payments made to the Audit firm for its professional services, The extract of the minutes of Executive Council Meeting adopting the said Forensic Audit Report.”
Relying on the stipulation of the law, allowing for one week for the documents to be provided, the group, added: “Please, permit us to remind you, that you have seven days, under the Freedom of Information Act, to release the above records to us. Accept the assurances of our highest regards.”
Otti, had Friday, April 19, 2024, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, in the United States of America told his audience comprising indigenes of the state, residing in the US: “Talking about corruption, I had set up a forensic audit as soon as I took over office in Abia, last year (2023). So that there won’t be any argument, I called in one of the top three audit firms in the world, and not too long ago, they turned in their report, and some of the things in their report are frightening.
“So, some N9.3 billion was paid to seven contractors for contracts that were not executed at all up till today. Another N15.9 billion (N16 billion) was paid to 63 contractors with no supporting documents anywhere in the state. Another N12 billion was paid to two contractors for contracts that do not exist, out of this figure N10 billion was on September 25, 2020, paid to a contractor for the construction of the Abia State Airport.
“We have spent time trying to locate the airport and up till now have not been able to locate it… So, as we continue to look for our airport, we have also told the security agencies to help us search. When you juxtapose that with pensions that were lying unpaid for about 10 years and the salary arrears, just one of these headings, the N10 billion that was spent to build a non-existent airport, was exactly the amount of money our government used to take off the pension arrears.”
FG approves Abuja-London route for Air Peace, reviews BASA pact with UK
Ibom Air orders 10 new aircrafts for domestic operations
N107billion: Anti-corruption group demands Otti’s Forensic Audit Report against Ikpeazu
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