By Naomi Sharang
Independent Foreign Observers Mission in Nigeria has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The mission which gave the commendation in its preliminary report on the just concluded election in Abuja on Tuesday described the poll as peaceful and transparent.

Mr David Furnad of the United States read the report.

“The presidential elections in Nigeria recorded a high turnout of voters nationwide.

“It can also be regarded as one of the most transparent elections in the country’s history with the significant candidates recording victories and defeats.

“The presidential election witnessed a comparatively large turnout of voters in the various geopolitical zones compared to other general elections in the country.

“The South-west and the South-east zones witnessed the highest number of voters turnout, with eligible voters demonstrating an uncommon level of patience to exercise their franchise”.

“INEC deployed both sensitive and non sensitive materials to voting points on time, even though the report recorded some delays in some areas, which it said did not deter voters from performing their civic duties.

“There was minimal incidences of vote buying across the country. The reason adduced is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) randomly visited polling units unannounced to arrest anyone involved in such acts.

“The country’s recent redesign of currency reduced vote buying to the barest minimum.”

The Mission praised some political parties and their candidates for honouring the Peace Accord and not inciting their supporters.

Those present at the presentation of the report include: Messrs Rudolf Elmendorp, Stuart Young, Stuart Dyer, Francois DeRobaix and Jeffrey Fry.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Salisu Sani-Idris

The National Mass Movement for Better Orientation (NAMMBO), a frontline Tinubu support group, has cautioned youths against indulging in post-election violence in the interest of peace and national development.

The National Coordinator of NAMMBO, Dr Hauwa Bagu, made the call at a news conference to declare vote of confidence on the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Tuesday in Abuja.

She said that the outcome of the election was a clear evidence that democracy was getting stronger in the country.

Bagu commended INEC boss for conducting transparent elections in line with the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

She also urged the aggrieved political parties who were not satisfied with the outcome of recently concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections to seek court redress and avoid inflammatory comments capable of disrupting peacefully coexistence in the country.

Bagu reminded political parties of a peace accord they signed recently under the National Peace Committee for the peaceful 2023 general elections.

She urged the youths not to allow themselves to be used to foment trouble by those who were bent on truncating the nation’s democracy.

Bagu said: “In every competition, somebody must win and that is why we are here today to talk to Nigerians for those that will want to cause problem they should have a rethink.

“We don’t want any violence arising from the outcome of the just concluded elections.

” In the history of elections in Nigeria I don’t think there is any election that can be adjudged free, fair, credible and transparent election like the one we had on Feb. 25, because the process was open.

” We should say no to anybody that want to cause crisis in Nigeria at this point in time because what we need is peace and that is why we voted for Tinubu who is a nationalist and has the capacity to unite the country more.”

Bagu expressed optimism that the emergence of Tinubu as President-elect of Nigeria would usher in progress and development in the country.

On his part, the Director of Administration of the group, Mohammed Shehu, described the just concluded elections as a watershed in the political history of Nigeria.

He commended INEC for the good work from the voter registration exercise which culminated into the 2023 general elections.

Shehu condemned calls for the cancellation of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, adding that nobody has the right to cancel an election that held except the court.

He said: “Any political party that has any grievances as regards the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections should approach the election tribunals for redress.

“If they have water tight evidence the courts are empowered by the law to administer justice without fear or favour.”

Also, the Deputy National Coordinator of NAMMBO, Ibrahim Umar, declared total support of the group on INEC for enhancing the credibility of the electoral process in the country.

Umar said: “We believe that all the processes that INEC took in conducting the Feb. 25 elections were transparent and clear right from the polling units to the INEC collation centres.

“We, therefore, call on all political parties that participated in the elections, especially the opposition to believe in the process and go to courts where necessary.

“However, for us in the All Progressives Congress (APC) we have not challenged areas where we lost the election.

“For instance, President Muhammadu Buhari lost his state to the opposition party, the National Chairman of APC had also lost his state, Nasarawa to the opposition.

“These are signs of transparency in the process. You can recall that in some states in the East were results were allegedly branded.”N

According to Umar,nobody challenged the numbers that came in there because, “if we should go by that, then definitely the election will be questioned.”

He emphasised the need for all Nigerians to believe in the sanctity of Nigeria as one indivisible country. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Emmanuel Oloniruha and Angela Atabo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Bola Tinubu winner of Feb. 25 presidential election.

Tinubu, who was former Governor of Lagos State, garnered a total votes of 8,794,726 to defeat his major rivals; Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520 votes , and Peter Obi of Labour Party who secured 6,101,533 votes of the 24,965,218 total vote cast.

Also Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso- of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) came distance fourth with 1,496,687 votes.

“That Tinubu Bola Ahmed of the APC haven satisfied the requirements of the law and scoring the highest votes is hereby declared winner and elected,” Yakubu said.

Yakubu also listed the votes scored by other political parties and their Presidential Candidates as follows: Accord (A), Prof. Christopher Imumulen- 61,014

Action Alliance (AA) Almustapha Hamza-14,542

African Action Congress (AAC) Omoyele Sowore-14,608

African Democratic Congress (ADC) Dumebi Kachikwu-81,919

Action Democratic Party (ADP) Sani Yabagi -43,924

All Progressives Congress (APC) Sen. Bola Tinubu-8,794,726

All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof. Peter Umeadi -61,966

Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Princess ChiChi Ojei-25,961

Action Peoples Party (APP) Nnadi Charles Osita-12,839

Boot Party (BP), Adenuga Oluwafemi-16,156

Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi -6,101,533

New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso-1,496,687

National Rescue Movement (NRM) Osakwe Felix Johnson -24,869

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Atiku Abubakar-6,984,520

Peoples Redemption Party ( PRP), Kola Abiola-72,144

Social Democratic Party (SDP) Prince Adewole Adebayo-80,2067

Young Progressive Party (YPP) Prince Abdulmalik Ado-Ibrahim-60,600

Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) Nwanyanwu Daberechukwu-77,665

He gave the total number of registered voters in the country as 93,469,008, accredited voters as 25,286,616, valid votes as 24,025,940 and rejected votes as 939,278.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC will present the Certificate of Return to Tinubu at 3 p.m.

NAN also reports that the election result sheets was not signed by PDP, LP, NNPP, and other parties which had earlier on Monday staged a walk out of the national collation centre.

The opposition parties alleged that the process of the election had been compromised, demanding the election should be cancelled and a fresh poll conducted.

They also demanded that INEC Chairman should step aside and allow another person conduct the election.

According to Yakubu, Certificate of Return for the president-elect and vice president-elect would be issued on Wednesday at 3pm.

The commission would on Thursday issue a statement on when the Certificate of Return for the senators-elect and House of Representatives members -elect would be issued.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Muhyideen Jimoh

The Commonwealth Observer Group has called on Nigerians to remain peaceful as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) continues the collation and announcement of results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Mr Thabo Mbeki, the Chairperson of the Group and former President of South Africa, made the call in Abuja on Monday while delivering the interim report of the Group.

He noted that the Commonwealth had deployed its observer team to the six geo-political zones of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mbeki said that in spite of the largely peaceful elections, the group observed incidences of election-related violence and insecurity in some states.

“We note incidences of election-related violence and insecurity, some of which regrettably resulted in the loss of life and postponement of elections in some polling units.

“We also observed that these elections took place amidst a Naira demonetisation policy and fuel scarcity.

“This notwithstanding, we observed that Election Day proceeded largely peaceful. The determination, patience and resilience of all those Nigerians who turned out to vote in these elections are to be highly commended,” he said.

Mbeki, however appealed to Nigerians and politicians to ensure peace and calm as INEC continues the collation process.

“As the results process continues, let me reiterate the desire that all Nigerians, especially the candidates who contested the elections, continue to uphold their pre-election commitment to peace.

“The group strongly encourages all Nigerians to exercise patience to allow INEC and its staff across the country to conclude the results process effectively and peacefully,” he said.

He said that notwithstanding the shortcomings observed, the elections were largely peaceful while stressing the need for the collation and announcement of results to be conducted transparently.

“We call on all those with grievances to address disputes through prescribed legal channels.

“The time now is for restraint and continued patience as we await the final results,” he said.

Mbeki said that the final report, full findings and detailed recommendations would be Submitted to the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the end of the process.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigerians on Feb. 25 trooped to over 176, 606 polling units across the country to vote in the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

INEC is currently collating and announcing state-by-state results as they come in to the collation centre in Abuja for the Presidential election while the National Assembly results are being declared at the state level. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Adeleye Ajayi

By Muhyideen Jimoh

The European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission in Nigeria on Monday said it observed some short comings in the the just concluded general elections in Nigeria, in spite of INEC’s efforts.

Mr Barry Andrews, Chief Observer of the mission disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a briefing on the preliminary report of the mission.

“I think it’s important to note that the elections took place as planned on the day that it was planned and there was no postponement, and that is something that had been a feature of previous elections.

“By and large, the election took place in a peaceful environment.

“However, unfortunately, there were expectations regarding the use of the technology that were not met.

“There were shortcomings in relation to planning and training of the individuals at the polling units, which did not meet the standards that INEC has set for itself.

“So to that extent, it was disappointing. But I would say that our observations are consistent across the country.

“The late opening of polling stations, clearly hampered the ability of people to exercise a political right to vote.

“Because they opened so late, it was impossible for many people to stay around and wait until the actual polling units opened.

“So there is definitely room for improvement and unfortunately, a number of improvements that need to be made,” he said.

Andrews said although the mission was not in Nigeria to interfere but observe the elections, it was important to have peace and credible elections in the country.

“We don’t interfere in any way in the political process. We’re very careful to simply observe from the outside and try to provide some assessments that can be of some use to Nigeria in the future.

“But the one thing we would say, without hesitation is that it is absolutely critical that elections take place in a peaceful environment, and the sentiments that were expressed by the leaders at the peace accord signing last week.

“We would hope that they would be followed through.

“That political participants and particularly political leaders, would make it clear to all actors and that they should respect people’s right to get to the polling units whether in the governorship elections in a second round if one takes place, so that people can exercise their franchise freely and unhindered,” he added.

He urged INEC to improve it’s operational structure so that the sanctity of the process can be protected and credible elections enthroned in the country.

“We would also encourage INEC to improve some of the steps that they’re taking, particularly for example, the configuration of polling booths, which didn’t allow for secrecy in every instance and that therefore exposed the process to accusation of not been a secret ballot.

“So that was another shortcoming but we absolutely recognise that this election was taking place in a very challenging situation, particularly having regard to cash and fuel shortage,” he said.

“And also the scale of this election is really quite an extraordinary thing with 175,000 polling units 800,000 polling staff, as well as 1.5 million accredited agents of the various parties.

“So overall, the scale of it is a challenge. And while we did note these security issues, by and large, there was a peaceful opportunity for many, many millions of Nigerians to vote,” he said.

The EU envoy also decried the low participation of women in the electoral process while calling for more inclusivity.

He said the mission would still be in Nigeria until after the March 11 governorship elections, when it will come up with a final report. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

By Angela Atabo

An election observer group, Ready To Lead Africa, on Monday in Abuja called on INEC to tackle  challenges affecting collation of results of Saturday’s elections.

President of the group, Mr Godbless Otubure, told a news conference that it observed that the elections were dogged by logistics challenges, violence and harassment of some individuals.

“We call on INEC to address these issues with alacrity as concerns are beginning to swell from various parts, denting confidence in the process.

“We must now address the many negatives which have thus far threatened to mar the efforts of INEC.

“We deployed observers across the 36 states of the federation.

“In the course of duty, many of them observed incidents of violence, malfunctioning of equipment or malpractice during the voting and counting stages at different collation centres.

“There had been several incidents of result collation centres either not opening or opening late.

“In addition, they observed 34 incidents of violence, 31 of vote counting suspension, and 30 of polling stations running out of material,’’ he said.

Otubure said a police officer harassed one of the group’s observers at Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers and she was denied access to the collation centre in the area.

He added that observers reported faulty Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines in Rivers.

He said also that reports from Obiakpor Local Government Area and, Woji Town Hall, both in Rivers indicated that voting process was slow at two polling units.

He explained that at the two units, INEC officials arrived late and needed extra time to set up the BVAS machines.

“Also, in Oyo State, the collation process took much longer than normal; with collation starting extremely late at the local government area level,’’ he said.

Otubure said results collations were delayed in so many areas of Lagos State with many presiding officers reporting delay in obtaining materials.

He advised INEC to ensure strict adherence to the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC guidelines on results collation.

He, however, commended high voter turnout and Nigerians’ high expectation of the elections outcome.

He called on Nigerians to remain calm and to retain trust in the electoral umpire, and only undertake legal means where necessary. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Deborah Coker/Alli Hakeem
 

By Salisu Sani-Idris

An Abuja based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yahya Al-Yolawi, has called on newly elected political leaders in the country to fear Allah and fulfill their electioneering campaign promises when they assume office.

Al-Yolawi gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that being truthful in promises and covenants was one of the best characteristics by which true believers were known.

“I will like to remind our brothers and sisters in Islam, those who were elected in the President and National Assembly elections to fear Allah and endeavour to fulfill their electioneering campaign promises.

“They should also justify the confidence reposed in them by the electorate, by ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of resources that will be
entrusted to them.

“They should also ensure the protection of lives, properties and learn from the mistakes of their immediate predecessors; leadership is about trust and you will be asked by God on what you were entrusted with.”

The cleric also enjoined them to work hard and emplace policies that would enhance the living conditions of ordinary citizens.

“This means that leaders must have very close relationship with followers so that they can contribute their energy and work together towards realising and achieving set goals,” Al-Yolawa said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Deborah Coker/Maharazu Ahmed

“Adamu Muhammad Mainasara Aliero of PDP having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared winner and returned elected as Senator for Kebbi Central Senatorial District,” he said.