GRPolitics
Reactions trail INEC declaration of Osun poll inconclusive


The Peoples Democratic Party and other stakeholders protested on Sunday after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the Osun State governorship election inconclusive.
The commission also fixed the rerun poll in the seven polling units where election result was cancelled for Thursday, September 27, 2018.
Although the candidate of the PDP, Senator Ademola Adeleke scored 254,698 votes to beat the candidate of the All Progressives Congress who polled 254,345 votes, INEC said Adeleke could not be declared the winner because the number of votes cancelled – 3,498, was higher than 353 by which the PDP candidate defeated Oyetola.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Joseph Fuwape, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Akure, announced the result on Sunday.
The candidate of the ADP, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti scored 49,742, while the ADC candidate, Alhaji Fatai Akinabade, polled 7,681 votes.
The returning officer said, “We must note that during the presentation by the collation officers from different local government areas, we had issues in some polling units.
“There was an issue at the Orolu Local Government Area. There was a problem of ballot box snatching and 393 votes were cancelled. At unit 004 of the same Orolu LGA, there was also an issue of snatching of ballot box and 387 votes were cancelled. At Registration Area 9 unit 003 there were 167 registered voters. So, for Orolu LGA where there was cancellation, we had 947 registered voters.
“At Ife South LGA, there was also cancellation of election due to the problem of card reader malfunctioning at unit 010 where there were 502 registered voters.
“At Oyere in Ife North LGA, we also had cancellation of election. Fifty one people were accredited but there were 200 votes that were cast, with that, there was cancellation due to irregularities of over voting. Number of registered voters at that unit 02 is 353. In Osogbo at Unit 017, there was issue of absconding of the presiding officer; to this effect, the election there was cancelled. The number of registered voters was 884. So, the total number of registered voters at the polling units where the electoral officer cancelled is 3,498.


The result as declared by INEC
“We should recall that early this morning we presented reasons why a candidate could be returned or may not be returned.
“From the analysis of the result we had, the difference between the two major parties is 353 votes and the number of voters in units where elections were cancelled is 3,498.
“As a Returning Officer, it is not possible to declare any party as the clear winner of this election on the first ballot. I, Prof. Joseph Fuwape declare this election inconclusive.”
Earlier, the collation was temporarily suspended because of the rejection of the election results from some local government areas, including Ayedaade, Osogbo; Ife East.
The Chairman of the PDP in the state, Mr Soji Adagunodo, and Adeleke’s brother, Dele Adeleke, and some party leaders said they discovered discrepancies in some of the results.
An INEC official was also said to have been caught tearing the result of the Ayedaade LGA.
The man, who allegedly claimed that he was instructed to change the figure by one of his superiors was brought to the INEC premises in Osogbo and our correspondents observed that he was crying.
Some agents of the opposition parties warned INEC against falsifying election results in favour of the APC candidate.
The agents of the Restoration Party of Nigeria and Kowa Party, Mr Tosin Odeyemi and Miss Opeyemi Oladunjoye respectively said the election had been going on smoothly until some discrepancies were noticed in the results from some local government areas.
They called on the electoral umpire to do the right thing and avoid needless crisis.
Meanwhile, the APC has called on the voters in the polling units where rerun poll will be held to resist any attempt by the PDP to buy their conscience.
The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the APC in Osun State, Mr Kunle Oyatomi, said in a statement, adding that the ruling party would win on Thursday.
“It is providential. Osun has been miraculously saved from the savage jaws of the evil that could have befallen it if the monstrosity called the PDP had won the election.
“Now that Osun has been given a second chance to escape from the calamity it almost fell into, the people of Osogbo, Orolu, Ife South and Ife North now have the enormous task to save the state from predator-politicians.
“On Thursday, September 27, that is the mission that they have.
“We therefore call on all citizens in these polling areas to sacrifice everything they can on that day to become the great heroes and heroines of our beloved state.”
PDP rejects INEC’s verdict
However, the national leadership of the PDP rejected the inconclusive declaration of the Osun election by INEC.
The party said its candidate, Adeleke, must be declared as the winner of the election, adding that the process was conclusive.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, at a conference in Abuja on the election said the party “rejects in its entirety the INEC’s declaration of the September 22, 2018 Osun State Governorship election as inconclusive.”
Ologbondiyan explained that “Adeleke, who won a total of 254, 698 votes as against the APC candidate, Oyetola with 254,345, is in clear lead and should be immediately declared winner by INEC,” having met the requirements of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Ologbondiyan said, “Section 179 (2) (a)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear and very unambiguous in spelling out the conditions for returning a candidate to the office of governor of a state.
“This section states inter-alia, ‘A candidate for an election to the office of Governor of a State shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being two or more candidates – (a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election; and (b) he has not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the state.’
“The declaration of the election as inconclusive by INEC is therefore a sordid robbery of the franchise of the people of Osun State who participated in the election.
“It is obvious that having failed in its schemes to alter the final results due to the resistance of the people, the APC had to bear pressure on INEC to declare the election inconclusive so as to pave the way for the perfection of their manipulative schemes, which the people of Osun State have firmly resisted so far.
“Instead of yielding to the evil machination of the APC, INEC should have summoned the patriotic courage to immune itself and end this needless controversy by returning the PDP and declaring our candidate as the winner.
“It is instructive to state that the PDP will no longer accept inconclusive elections as subterfuge by the APC to attain its dubious electoral manipulative schemes in our nation.
The PDP spokesman warned that even though PDP was for peace, the party would not hesitate to use every force available in a democracy to face any attempt to subvert the will of the people or “rig us out of this election.”
Ologbondiyan called on the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to avoid the fury of the people by immediately reversing “this fraudulent decision of the Resident Electoral Commissioner and declaring our candidate the winner of the election. Anything short of this is definitely not acceptable to the PDP and the people of Osun and it is a direct recipe for crisis.”
Asked if the party would go to court, Ologbondiyan said all options were being considered, including going to court and participating in the supplementary election scheduled for Thursday.
He pointed out that when APC won the bye elections in Bauchi and Katsina states with numbers of voided votes, the ruling party candidates were still declared by INEC as winners.
The National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, also described the decision taken by INEC as shameless.
He alleged that INEC took instructions from the APC by declaring the result as inconclusive when he said it was obvious that the PDP candidate won.
Also, the Osun State Chairman of the PDP, Mr Soji Adagunodo on Sunday faulted the INEC decision, insisting that Adeleke fulfilled all requirements to be declared the winner.
Adagunodo said, “We therefore condemn the decision of INEC not to declare our candidate the winner of the election despite fulfilling all stipulated constitutional and legal requirements.”
The state PDP alerted Nigerians that the alleged plot to declare the election inconclusive was pre-planned and orchestrated by INEC in collaboration with the APC.
He said by declaring the election inconclusive, INEC deliberately thwarted people’s will.
He said, “The whole world saw how our candidate was denied victory in a hotly contested election. In that election, we fought against the multiple forces of state deployed against us.”
He said the party will look at all the options and do what would benefit Osun people.
The state PDP boss commended the people of Osun State.
“However, it is not over. The battle to chase away the slave drivers is not complete. Let us guide our loins for the last onslaught.”
GRPolitics
Tinubu Hails Winners of By-Elections in 12 States


President Bola Ahmed Tinubu congratulates all the winners of Saturday, August 16, by-elections in 16 constituencies across 12 states.
The President commends the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the hitch-free elections, mostly devoid of violence.
Following the results declared by INEC, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won in 12 constituencies, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won in two, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in one, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won in one.
President Tinubu congratulates the new APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, for the emphatic first victory recorded under his leadership.
He also congratulates the APC governors and other leaders on the success of the by-elections.
“Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda has shown leadership capacity and demonstrated what is achievable when popular candidates are fielded and with unity of purpose among party leaders,” the President remarks.
“To all APC faithful and the electorate, thank you for the confidence reposed in our party. Be assured that our Renewed Hope slogan is not a mere slogan. Our destination is a better, more secure and prosperous Nigeria. We shall take you there, by the Grace of God,” he said.
President Tinubu commends all the political parties and candidates who participated in the election and enjoins them to continue to be guided by the spirit of sportsmanship, fair contest and magnanimity, which are enablers of enduring democracy.


The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has restated the Federal Government’s firm commitment to the rapid socio-economic development of Ebonyi State and the entire South-East geo-political zone.
Speaking in Abakaliki on Friday night at a Citizens’ Engagement Forum organised by his Ministry, the Minister said: “The commitment of Mr. President to the socio-economic development of Ebonyi State and the entire South-East is unwavering. He is right on track to transform and move the region forward, as promised when he came here to campaign in November 2022.”
The Minister explained that the Citizens’ Engagement Forum is not a mere talk shop but a direct platform to present government’s scorecard, give account of stewardship, and take feedback from Nigerians.
“This is consistent with the mission of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation to reenact trust in public communication by deepening the social contract between government and citizens, and restoring public confidence in governance.”
Highlighting major achievements of the Tinubu administration, Idris noted that subsidy removal and other bold reforms have doubled allocations to states and local governments, fueling an “unprecedented explosion of infrastructure projects across most states of the country.”
The Minister said “the Port Harcourt-Aba railway project has been completed, delivered, and is in operation,” while the Federal Executive Council has approved “the allocation of $3 billion for the completion of the 2,044km Eastern Rail Line, projected to unlock N50 billion for the region in annual trade.”
In addition, “$508 million has been earmarked for the upgrade and modernization of Eastern Port infrastructure,” while “118.85km of the Ebonyi section of the Calabar-Abuja Super Highway has been inaugurated.”
On healthcare, the Minister disclosed that “the Federal Government, in April 2025, flagged off the Cancer Centre of Excellence at the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu,” adding that a “world-class Oncology Centre at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Nsukka” has also been commissioned.
To support small businesses, Idris stated: “The Federal Government, through the Bank of Industry, injected about N200 billion into nano, micro, and small businesses, benefitting over 900,000 business owners.”
He further announced that the newly established South-East Development Commission has “hit the ground running in its pursuit to build a $200 billion economy for the region by 2035,” while the South-East Investment Corporation, with a capital base of N150 billion, will drive industrialization and inclusive growth.
On security, the Minister assured citizens that the Federal Government is winning the war against insurgents and secessionist elements. “We have recorded great success in making the South East safe and rendering the sit-at-home orders by secessionists ineffective,” he stressed.
Idris commended Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State for his development strides, especially in forging synergy with the Federal Government to deliver impactful projects for the people of the state.
“His success across all sectors of the state is a testament to what is possible when state and federal governments work in synergy to deliver dividends of democracy to the people.”
The Minister reiterated President Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy, bridging the infrastructure gap, promoting food security, improving the living conditions of the masses and bequeathing a prosperous nation to future generations. “Indeed, we are not resting on our oars,” he affirmed.
GRPolitics
2027: Again, Enugu North Endorses Gov Mbah over Massive Projects, UNN VC
SANDRA ANI reports that Governor Mbah told the people “…You ain’t seen nothing yet”


…Says Enugu-Nsukka rail line in the pipeline
Stakeholders and groups across the six Local Government Areas of Enugu North Senatorial District, also known as Nsukka Zone, have endorsed Dr. Peter Mbah of Enugu State for a second term in office yet again.
The stakeholders, comprising traditional, political, and community leaders, professionals and various groups, said the governor had shown sincerity and determination in addressing the major challenges facing Nsukka Zone through visible projects, while also facilitating the appointment of a son of the zone as the Vice Chancellorship of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for the first time since the founding of the institution in 1960.
This was as Mbah revealed that he was already in the process of feasibility study for a rail line that would reduce trip from Enugu to Nsukka to 15 minutes, saying he was just starting.
The people of Nsukka zone bared their minds during Governor Mbah’s working visit to Nsukka at the weekend, which featured the foundation laying for a 5,000-shop capacity Nsukka International Market, meeting with traditional rulers of the zone at Edem Ani, and a well-attended meeting with stakeholders of the zone.
Speaking, the Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Samuel Asadu, said the zone had presented three major requests before Mbah ahead of the 2023 election, namely; the dualisation of the 44km Abakpa Nike-Opi-Nsukka Road, appointment of an Nsukka Zone indigene as Vice Chancellor of UNN, and support the creation of Adada State.
“Today, the governor is already dualising the Enugu-Opi-Nsukka Road. Just last week, he, through his good relationships with President Bola Tinubu, ensured the emergence of Professor Simon Ortuanya as the Vice Chancellor of UNN. While the creation of Adada State is not for him to decide, he has given us all the support to push for it.
“It means that he has met almost all our demands in just two years. So, tell me why we will follow another person other than him?”, he said.


In his remarks, the Chairman of Nsukka LGA, Engr. Jude Asogwa, said Mbah was unstoppable, as far as Enugu north was concerned, saying he had surpassed their expectations.
“Our people said that I should inform you that you are unstoppable. We thank you for the 20 Smart Green Schools in Nsukka, 20 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres, and the Modern Transport Terminal in Nsukka, just to name a few, all in just two years.
“So, we want to tell you that we are committed to your cause. In fact, it is as though Enugu just started two years ago. We don’t engage in frivolities and we are on ground for you,” Asogwa stated.
In his opening remark at the townhall meeting, which held at the UBA Hall, UNN, Member representing Nsukka/Igboeze South Federal Constituency, Hon. Chidi Obetta, said Mbah had shown that leadership was no rocket science, noting that the essence of the townhall meeting was for the governor to get undiluted feedback from the people.
“The Enugu North zone is saying thank you because I know a lot of projects across various sectors you have told me in our private discussions that you were planning to bring to Nsukka” he said.
Mbah, while responding to their requests which were mostly in appreciation for the projects done and request for more roads, assured the zone that he would get even more aggressive with roads construction in 2025 by which time he would have been done with the 260 Smart Green Schools and the 260 type-2 Primary Healthcare Centers.
“I know you are all excited about the Abakpa-Opi-Nsukka Road. But you ain’t seen nothing yet. We are also going to do a rail line from Enugu to Nsukka. We don’t think that travelling from Enugu to Nsukka should take you more than 15 minutes. We are still doing the feasibility studies. But this is something we will do,” he said.
Other eminent personalities of Enugu North at the events, which featured a question and answer session with the governor, include the Deputy Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Ezenta Ezeani; Member representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Hon. Dennis Agbo; Labour Party candidate in the 2023 governorship election, who has also returned to the Peoples Democratic Party, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga; and Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Enyinna Franklin Ogbonna.
Also present were members of Enugu State House of Assembly representing the zone, the six Council Chairmen of the zone, among others.
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