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2023 Enugu governorship contest: The heist cannot stand
By Emeka Nwosu
The just concluded General election came with its twists and turns across the length and breadth of the nation. The attendant fraud and malpractices have continued to reverberate in the land. In Enugu, the polls recorded high drama and subterfuge, never witnessed in the annals of electoral history in Nigeria. The election was not only brazenly manipulated but eventually stolen by the ruling PDP in the State, thus denying the Labour Party (LP) the clear mandate which the people of Enugu State freely gave to its flag bearer, Hon. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga.
It is unfortunate that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allowed itself to be used to subvert the popular will of the people of Enugu State in the March 18, 2023 rescheduled gubernatorial election, using the over-bloated votes of Nkanu East Local Government Area (LGA) as the staging post. It will be recalled that the Returning Officer for the election, Professor Maduebibisi Iwe, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture (MOUA), Umudike, had, while announcing the controversial Nkanu East result which purportedly gave victory to Mr. Peter Mbah of the PDP, stated that he was acting under a higher authority.
In other words, what Professor Iwe was actually saying was that he was cajoled, intimidated and directed to declare the manipulated figures from Nkanu East, even when he knew that the figures in question were totally contrived. And how do you compare Iwe and his counterpart, Professor Nnenna Oti, the Returning Officer in the governorship election in Abia State, who stood her ground and firmly refused to be swayed by the powers that be who wanted her to admit and announce falsified figures from Obingwa LGA which would have tilted the outcome of the election in favour of the candidate of the ruling PDP, Chief Okey Ahiwe, as opposed to the flag bearer of the LP, Dr. Alex Otti, who was leading Ahiwe with about 91,000 votes?
In the case of Enugu State, the LP candidate, Edeoga, was cruising to victory, having defeated his main opponent, Mbah, in majority of the 16 out of the 17 LGAs in the State declared by INEC, remaining the controversial Nkanu East LGA. Having realized that Edeoga has virtually won the election, the PDP generated for itself 30,500 votes from the LGA to wipe the lead which Edeoga was maintaining with the impressive votes he received from Nsukka LGA. Unfortunately for the PDP and its candidate, the voters accredited by the BVAS machine in Nkanu East were not more than 9,000 persons. It was, therefore, unthinkable that 30,500 votes were being recorded for the PDP.
Under the 2022 Electoral Act, once the number of votes in any polling unit, ward or LGA exceeds the total number of those accredited for an election, those votes are supposed to be cancelled in line with the law. But what played out in the case of Nkanu East was not only bizarre and unconscionable but totally despicable. It will be recalled that following the stiff protests by the LP and election observers, the collation of the falsified Nkanu East results was temporarily halted. The Returning Officer was summoned by INEC to its Headquarters in Abuja for a review of the controversial Nkanu East results.
The least action that was expected from INEC Headquarters was the cancellation of the entire Nkanu East results or the pronouncement of the results based on the BVAS accreditation. Even if all the 9,000 valid votes cast at the election in Nkanu East based on the BVAS accreditation were given to Peter Mbah, the LP candidate, Hon. Barr. Chijioke Edeoga would still have won the election.
It is, therefore, surprising that INEC, after the so-called review in Abuja asked the Returning Officer, Professor Iwe, to proceed with the announcement of results that had no bearing to the true outcome of the votes in the Nkanu East LGA. That fraudulent action is nothing but an act of impunity that defies logic and rationality. The heist must not be allowed to stand.
It is unfortunate that Professor Iwe who is said to be the Head of the Scripture Union in the academia in Nigeria lacked the strength of character and moral courage to do the right thing unlike Professor Nnenna Oti who refused to be compromised. Professor Iwe cannot be exonerated from allegations of complicity and conspiracy by saying that he acted under authority. That proclamation alone merely showed him as a simpleton who was used as a tool to subvert the will of the people of Enugu State.
The likes of Professor Iwe, by the ignoble roles they played in the 2023 elections across the country have brought dishonor to themselves and the academia. Their shameful actions will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives. Nevertheless, people like Professor Oti still give a modicum of hope that all is not lost with the academia.
Let it be stated clearly that the Enugu matter cannot be swept under the carpet. The retrieval of the stolen mandate from the PDP is a task that must be done. It is gladdening to note that the LP and its candidate have gone to Court to seek redress. It is a straightforward case. All objective political observers are hopeful that at the end of the day, Hon. Edeoga would retrieve his stolen mandate which was freely given to him by the good people of Enugu State.
Dr. Emeka Nwosu, A Political Analyst, wrote from Abuja
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi says he is aware of some evil designs against himself and his supporters in the coming months.
The former Anambra State governor disclosed this in a statement released on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, May 29, 2023.
The release of the statement coincided with the inauguration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s President at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 28, 2023
See full statement:
For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.
We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all. As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.
Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.
The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason, I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves.
We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.
Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.
I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.
I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.
I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured.
We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a center of productivity rather than aimless consumption.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
These schemes will aim at degrading our support base and confusing the public. But, no evil campaign will alter the substance of my character; nor diminish my patriotic commitment to a better Nigeria. It is about the future of our youths. it is about ending the Years of Locust.
In all of this, I thank Nigerians, our great party (LP) and the media. The latter, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, has remained a trusted ally.
This Estate must continue to guide our people on the immense promise of a future in a new Nigeria.
God bless Nigeria and protect the troops keeping us safe in this season of vaulting insecurity.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. –PO
Channels
James Faleke, lawmaker and Secretary of the now defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), has revealed that President Bola Tinubu would unveil members of his cabinet within 60 days.
Channels Television, which quoted him as saying on Monday, at the inauguration of of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as president and vice-president of Nigeria was underway at the Eagle Square in Abuja, said the President, would , unveil his cabinet as soon as possible.
Faleke, who promised that the new President would bring a different approach to power, was quoted as saying: “Of course, within 60 days, that’s what the law says. He can announce anytime but I just know he must do it within 60 days.”
Eradication of terrorism, waging war against corruption and battling the crippling poverty in Nigeria, would form the fulcrum of a new Nigeria President Bola Tinubu, says he would strive to put in place as his new government began hours ago after assuming the reins of power as the 16th President, after Muhammadu Buhari handed over to him at an elaborate ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday.
Vowing to defend Nigeria from all forms of terror, as well as end extreme poverty in the country, Tinubu, told Nigerians: “I will do that through job creation and food security and end to extreme poverty. I will ensure that corruption is tacked by strenghtening anti-corruption agencies.”
He also promised that his administration would discourage corruption through the introduction of a credit culture, stating: “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”
It was also on a day the President, who had during his presidential campaigns, promised Nigerians that he would remove subsidy on petroleum products, made good his words by announcing suspension on them, adding that the era of payments on fuel was gone, as the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy “and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable.”
Obi to Nigerians: Don’t be despaired, your mandate won’t be lost
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Tinubu: My stand on corruption, insecurity *How I’ll banish poverty in Nigeria
In the military, INEC boss and his team would be executed – Bode George *Why put Tinubu’s boy in charge of IT?
I’ve paid a price for joining Obi to rescue Nigeria – Datti-Ahmed *Weeps on TV
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