Tension As APC Loses Osun State Governorship Election In Its Stronghold – SEE RESULTS

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The All Progressives Congress, APC, has lost the the Ogun State Governorship election in the polling unit of its pioneer National Chairman, Bisi Akande.

Akande’s Ward is regarded as one of the stronghold of the APC in Osun State.

Recall, that Akande had voted at his polling unit 12, Ward 4, Ita Aewogbade, Ila Local Government Area, of the State.

At the end of counting of votes, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Ademola Adeleke, won the polling unit with 78 votes to the APC’s 49.

The Presiding Officer of the polling unit, Nwadike Ogechi, announced the result in the presence of voters, Journalists, and Observers.

Below is the breakdown of the counted votes:ACD- 1

AGA- 1

APC- 49

PDP- 78

SDP- 19

UPN- 1

Akande had earlier assured that his party’s candidate, Gboyega Oyetola, will emerge the winner of the Osun State Governorship election.

“My party has always been assured of victory, especially in this part of the country; we are everywhere”, he said.

A total of 48 candidates are taking part in the election in the 30 Local Government Areas of the State.

Reports have it that APC supporters are in a sorrowful mood over the outcome of the election.

PDP AGENTS Arrested With N604,000 meant for vote buying in Osun state

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Vote buyers are having a bad day in the Osun governorship election as Security agents attached to polling units have effectively barred voters from taking their smart phones into voting cubicles.

The police on Saturday arrested one Muraina Olalekan and Hamzat Muniru at St Mary’s Grammar School, Elewe-Iwo, Iwo for being in possession of the sum of N604, 000 which they allegedly confessed was meant for APC agents and election officials.

According to reports, Nigeria, the party agent arrested had been revealed to be PDP AGENTS after they attempted to distribute money to voters at the Obada area of Ede in Ede Local Government Area, which is also the town of Ademola Adeleke.

See the photo evidence of the agents carrying sack of money with PDP Candidate, Senator Adeleke’s Late Elder brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke name imprinted on it!!!

 

The phenomenon called ‘see and buy’, was deemed a stain on the integrity of Nigeria’s elections. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission, along with security agents have vowed to end the practice.

 

In some of the polling units visited in Ilesa and Ile-Ife, majority of the voters came to the polling units with their smartphones. However, security agents did not allow them to take them inside the cubicles, where they vote. A security personnel, who spoke with NAN on the condition of anonymity, said move had so far checked the incidence of vote-buying at polling units. Mr Jimmy George, an election observer, commended security agents for preventing voters from using their phones inside the cubicles.

 

George , who is the National Secretary of the National Committee of Patriots, said the action of the security agents would minimise vote-buying in the election.

 

Meanwhile, accreditation and voting in the election continued on a peaceful note in many polling units across the state. At Unit 12A, Ward 05 in Ile-Ife, voters were seen on the queue peacefully with INEC ad hoc staff attending to them. It was also observed that the card reader machines were also working perfectly at the polling unit visited

 

Mr Lukman Adedini, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), agent confirmed that the election had been peaceful. Adedini also commended INEC ad hoc staff for arriving on time. Also at Ward 6, Remo Unit 2 in Ile-Ife, many voters were seen on the queue. Mrs Victoria Komolafe, the Presiding Officer, who said the election had been orderly and peaceful, also commended the large turnout of voters. Mr Olayade Abiola, the SDP party agent at the polling unit, commended INEC for the prompt arrival of materials

Ambode Second term: Epe indigenes turn prayer warriors as APC elders seal governor’s fate

Posted on by Shehu BelloPoliticsLeave a Comment on Ambode Second term: Epe indigenes turn prayer warriors as APC elders seal governor’s fate

Governor Ambode of Lagos is currently swimming against the political tide, that is the APC nomination ticket after it appear that top officials of the party are determined not to let him seek a second term in office using the party’s platform.

Though, Ambode has made several contact with powerful party members both within and outside the state, it seem his fate is sealed base on the words of on observer who was at a meeting of party elders on Tuesday and reported a cryptic message by the party national leader, Bola Tinubu.

“For us, we already know the direction things will go in today’s meeting because after the Tuesday’s parley, Asiwaju left us with a strongly coded rhetorical question, that is, ‘can you pack back into a bottle the beer you want to drink after spilling same on the floor?” the source said.

However, knowing that their illustrious son may soon be shown the door out of state house, Alausa, in the coming months, indigenes of Epe, the home town of the governor have resorted to prayer and fasting.

A cleric of the church who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that intercessory prayers are being held for Gov. Ambode. He vowed that the daily vigil and prayer session would not stop until Ambode’s second term ticket is guaranteed by APC.

“It is true that this church is coordinating series of prayers for Gov. Ambode. What we are doing is not evil. We have no regret over it,” he declared.

“Gov. Ambode and his family are part and parcel of this church. Although Gov. Ambode himself is no longer a member of the Anglican Church, when he was young, he used to worship with us here with his parents. Up till today, the governor’s mother, Mama, is a regular worshipper with us.

“Mama is very close to us, and up till today, there is no programme or project we have in the church that Mama, the governor and other members of the family don’t join us in doing. Like every other family in this church, the Ambode family also observed its own yearly harvest and thanksgiving in the church,” he added.

 

“Let me, however, state this categorically. There are talks about some individuals and groups. There are those mentioning that one group called Mandate has sealed the fate of Ambode and that he is a goner. People should however know that with God nothing is impossible. It is only God that can give anybody a mandate. If God gives Ambode a divine mandate, not even one million Mandate Group can stop him. Let’s leave everything in the hand of God,” he concluded.

 

#OsunDecides2018: I’m Going To Win – APC Candidate Oyetola Brags

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Gboyega Oyetola,  the All Progressives Congress candidate in the Osun State governorship election, has revealed that he would win the election because he had laboured so hard.

Oyetola said this shortly after casting his vote at Ward 1, Unit 2 in Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area of the state.

He had arrived, alongside his wife and children, at 10.07am and finished casting his vote five minutes later.

Speaking to journalists after voting, the 64-year-old said he was satisfied with the conduct of the voters and security agents.

He said, “I believe the security agents are doing their job very well. It’s been so far so good because everybody realises there must be a free and fair election.

“On the allegation of vote-buying, I don’t know about people buying votes. They may be doing so somewhere else, but not in my ward.

I believe strongly that I’m going to win this election; I’ve laboured so hard. Apart from that, the current administration has worked very well in a lot of areas, including health care, commerce, education, infrastructural development, and agriculture.

“I’m going to make sure I continue with those projects, especially in providing security for the people. Everyone is looking forward to seeing who leads them in the next four years.”

#OsunDesides2018: APC, PDP, SDP, Others Battle To Produce Next Governor

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In a bid to outsmart the tough stance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on vote buying in today’s governorship election in Osun State, politicians in the state have turned to social media messaging application, WhatsApp to woo voters with financial enticement, Saturday Punch reports.

According to Investigations by the newspaper, the representatives of at least one of the contestants were using the WhatsApp social media platform to woo Permanent Voter Card (PVC) holders, who are residents of Osun State, to sell their votes

The representatives, the report revealed hid their identities to carry out the vote buying exercise.

A correspondent of the newspaper had tried to get the identify of the buyers and was linked to a Whatsapp number 08120569530, where he was asked a series of questions to ascertain if he actually had a PVC and if he was an Osun State indigene.

The administrator promised that N10,000 would be deposited into the correspondent’s account number at 6am on Election Day. He was asked for his account detail, age, town, ward and unit to claim the amount.

According to the report, the administrator said: “You’ll receive bank alert 6am on the Election Day. Don’t forget to pass this good news to all your friends and family. Make sure you add us to you(r) phone book and don’t forget to send this to all your friends and family living in around Osun State. Expect our call anytime from now.”

According to the report, All efforts to track the identify of the people behind the scheme and the candidate they are working for proved fruitless.

OSUN 2018!!! Desperate Politicians Outsmart INEC, Adopt New Strategy Of Vote-Buying To Rig Today’s Election, As PDP, APC, Trade Blames

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As 48 Governorship candidates from 48 political parties jostle for 1,246,915 votes, in the Osun State Gubernatorial election holding on Saturday (today), some of the contestants and their Political Associates, have devised new means and tactics to induce voters, ahead of the poll.

Investigations revealed that representatives of some of the political parties, were using the WhatsApp social media platform to woo Permanent Voters Card holders, who are residents of Osun State, to sell their votes.

This was despite attempts by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to curb vote-buying and selling, especially in the Osun State election.

It was gathered that the Associates of the contestants cleverly hid their identities.

To track the identities of the buyers and the Politicians they were working for, Punch’s Correspondent connected to an online link that in turn linked him with a WhatsApp number, 08120569530, where he was asked a series of questions to ascertain if he actually had a Permanent Voters Card, and if he was an Osun State indigene, the administrator later promised that N10,000 would be deposited into the Correspondent’s account number at 6am on Election Day. The Correspondent was asked to send his account details, age, town, ward and unit to claim the amount.

The administrator said: “You will receive bank alert by 6am on the Election Day. Do not forget to pass this good news to all your friends and family. Make sure you add us to you(r) phone book and do not forget to send this to all your friends and family living in and around Osun State. Expect our call anytime from now.”

It was however difficult, to ascertain the party or Governorship candidate that initiated the payment process. When the Correspondent tried using Truecaller to unmasked the identity of the person, he did not respond.

Almost immediately, the administrator sent a message that the Correspondent would be stopped from enjoying the N10,000 vote-buying price. “Please, no WhatsApp call, and if you keep calling, we will block you”, the administrator wrote.

Meanwhile, one of the contestants was said to have started distributing money to the Ward Leaders, who would identify names of their party members on the voters registers, and pay them ahead of the poll.

A source close to one of the Politicians, disclosed that the money had been moved to where the distribution would be done, in order to pay for the votes.

He said: “There is nothing they can do to stop vote-buying, especially in this election, because Politicians are desperate to outdo one another in their bid to buy votes.

“They have started bringing money out, but this time around, because of the noise over it, they will be more discreet in sharing the money. Money has been given to the Leader of the party in our area, but they are yet to tell us how much.”

It was also gathered that the sponsor of a particular candidate compelled some party Leaders to swear an oath, that they would spend the money he wanted to give them to induce voters, and not pocket them.

Some of the Leaders were said to have agreed, while a few of them were said to have rejected the money, because they could not swear this oath of allegiance.

The same candidate was said to have distributed forms to prospective voters, asking them to fill in their accounts details, to enable them to be credited with the sum of N10,000. The amount is said to be meant for any voter with a PVC.

However, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, traded blames over allegations of vote-buying, on Friday, accusing each other of trying to sway voters, by offering electorates money for their votes.

The PDP accused the ruling party of planning to buy votes with billions of naira, in order to manipulate the people to vote for the ruling party’s candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.

The opposition party denied that its candidate in the election, Ademola Adeleke, was collecting bank details of the electorates through a WhatsApp number, in order to buy their votes.

He said the allegation was a rumour, and that Adeleke would play by the rules of the election.

The PDP Chairman in Osun State, Mr. Soji Adagunodo, who stated this on Friday, at a Press Conference, at the party Secretariat, noted that the party had detected several means through which the APC wanted to rig the election.

Adagunodo stated: “We wish to alert the general public to the planned monetisation of the Osun State Governorship election, especially the voting process, by the APC. Towards this ignoble end, several helicopters loaded with cash were flown into the Government House, between the hours of 4pm and 8pm, on Thursday.

“The money, which we were reliably informed about runs into billions of naira, was contributed by State Governors elected on the platform of the APC, to enable the party to induce voters at various polling units.

“In addition, each of the 67 Local Government Council Development Areas in Osun State, were made to cough up N12.5 million, for the same purpose. The plan of the APC, as gathered from very credible sources, was to buy votes with a sum ranging from N5,000 to N10,000 each, at the polling units.

“It is quite unfortunate that a government which did not find it compelling to pay salaries and allowances of its workforce for 34 months, could resort to attempting to buy the conscience of voters in this election.”

In a swift response, a Chieftain of the APC in Osun State, Sola Fasure, who is also the Media Aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, asked the PDP to provide evidence of its allegations.

In defence of the ruling party, Fasure said that the opposition party had started inducing voters ahead of the election, adding that, the PDP raised the allegation as a smokescreen to divert attention from the alleged electoral fraud the party had perfected.

He said: “The PDP and its candidate have been sending messages out to obtain account numbers of the people whose votes they want to buy. They are using this allegation to cover their own heinous and sinister practice of trying to induce voters.

“They are making allegations without evidence, but we have evidence of them trying to induce voters. They are the ones actually sending messages and trying to induce these voters with cash. They have been obtaining bank accounts, and it is all over the State. Everybody knows, but they are using the Press Conference as a means to divert attention from them, so that they can perpetrate that criminal activity of subverting the election and inducing voters.

“We are not giving out money to anybody; anyone who claims to have collected money from us, should come out to the public and say it. We have the strategy of winning elections, by going out to canvass for votes, and they have the strategy of taking shortcuts, by paying to induce voters, and to circumvent the electoral process. They have started inducing voters already, but they will fail woefully.”

Elsewhere, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday, said that the Commission had recently observed increasing voters’ inducement through electronic transfers to influence their choice of voters on the day of the election.

According to a release by INEC on Friday, Yakubu led a team of National Commissioners to the EFCC, on Thursday, to look at further steps that could be taken to address the vote-buying and selling menace.

Yakubu said: “Of immediate concern, is the election we are holding on Saturday, in Osun State, and it is going to be the last major election before the 2019 general elections. We have taken steps as a Commission, but we need the support of the EFCC in this respect. Vote-buying and selling is giving our democracy and elections a bad reputation. Also, Institutions like the EFCC, having the powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute, can help to stem this ugly tide.

“We have also recently observed increasing inducement through electronic transfers, whereby money is transferred into the accounts of some voters, in order to influence their decisions on Election Day. We believe that you have both the law and the capacity on your side to help us in this respect.

“We implore the EFCC to also monitor campaign finances of political parties and their candidates. We do not want the moneybags to determine our democracy. We want the votes of the people to determine who wins in our elections.”

Major Outrage As APC Governors Sneak Into Osun State Today, Secret Mission Revealed, Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Election

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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that 9 All Progressives Congress, APC, Governors, have invaded Osun State, to rig Saturday’s Governorship election in favor of the APC.

Ayo Fadaka, the South-West Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, said this in a statement, on Friday.

He accused the Governors of causing disquiet in the State, saying that this development is capable of leading to unforeseen developments.

“We wish to bring to the notice of Nigerians, that Osun State has again been invaded by nine APC Governors, who continue to remain the arrow head and catalysts of its rigging machines across the nation”, the statement read.

“They brought into Osun State public funds meant for the development of their individual States, to come and buy votes again as done recently in Ekiti State; accompanying them are thugs whose only mission is to cause mayhem in the State, during the elections.

“These Governors are led by Alhaji Ganduje and Mr. El’Rufai of Kaduna, and they are 9 of them presently on ground. It is sad that the APC continues to pride itself in this malfeasance of wholesale bribery, in spite of its so called battle against corruption.

“We however, encourage the people of Osun State to take a hard stance against these Governors, who have abandoned their duty post with a view to corrupting them.”

HELP!!! PDP Cries Out, Exposes APC, INEC’s Alleged Rigging Template, Less Than 24-Hours To The Osun State Guber Poll

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Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of conniving with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to create a fictitious Ward, in order to rig Saturday’s Gubernatorial election in Osun State.

The opposition party said that the electoral body had created an additional Ward in Ila Local Government Area, to perfect their rigging plan.

This alarm was raised on Friday, via a statement on PDP’s Twitter handle.

Earlier, the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Comrade Timi Frank, had also revealed an alleged plot by INEC, to rig the forthcoming Governorship election in Osun State.

Frank, who recently left the ruling party for the PDP, called on INEC to be fair to all political parties participating in the election.

He said that there was a grand plan by the electoral body, in connivance with the ruling APC, to deploy faulty Card Reader Machines to the identified strongholds of major opposition parties in the State, to deprive voters the opportunity to exercise their franchise, and subsequently reduce the votes of the opposition parties.

Frank, described the latest plot as a scientific rigging, developed by the ruling APC, calling on all Observers in the Osun State election, to take note of the rigging style.

Frank warned the INEC boss, Mahmood Yakubu, to either desist from the plot or step aside, if he cannot disobey the APC, in the interest of justice; stating that, information gathered from multiple sources in INEC, revealed the plan.

“The latest rigging method was first used in Ekiti Governorship election, where the APC won with 19000 votes, and INEC cancelled over 19000 votes as a result of faulty machines in the strongholds of the People Democratic Party (PDP)”, Frank’s statement said.

“The people of Osun should be alerted to the latest method, and resist to vote until faulty Card Reader is changed wherever, because the plan is to cancel such places where Card Reader malfunction.

“We are also calling on Local and International Observers to be conscious of this information, ahead of Saturday’s election.

“Nigerians should be worried that if the INEC could not deploy functional Card Readers and other machines to conduct peaceful and credible elections in just one State of the Federation, despite the huge amount of money the body is getting, what is the assurance that the same body will be fair to all in 2019?

“One would begin to suspect whether the latest rigging method is what is giving the APC assurance, and the reason why its Leaders are boasting of winning the yet to be conducted election already.”

2019 Elections: EFCC launches probe into APC, PDP, 89 other parties

Posted on by Fola OjabowalePoliticsLeave a Comment on 2019 Elections: EFCC launches probe into APC, PDP, 89 other parties

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced on Friday that it had begun mobilisation of its resources to identify the sources of campaign funding by the 91 political parties to field candidates in the 2019 general elections. The political parties include the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.

The purpose is to identify the culprits and prosecute them for the first time in the history of Nigeria’s political funding, which has become grounded in fraudulent practices especially vote-buying in recent times.

The EFCC has also moved its investigations into high gear in the fight against vote buyers ahead of Saturday’s governorship elections.

The commission revealed that as part of its proactive efforts in securing the integrity of the electoral process and prevent the exercise from being used as avenue for money laundering, it had already launched massive, but discreet, surveillance of the financial flows of all the actors in the various political parties.

The statement by EFCC said, “As preparations for the 2019 general election enters the home stretch, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission restates its determination to stamp out corruption in the electoral process to ensure that the will of the people is not subverted through financial inducement by desperate politicians.

“To this end, and starting from the governorship election in Osun State this weekend, the Commission has fully mobilized its investigative resources in a proactive move to stem the incidence of vote buying and other financial inducements that had bedevilled the nation’s electoral process.

“Specifically, the Commission expresses its resolve to monitor campaign financing by political parties, while calling on aspirants to elective offices to apprise themselves of the provisions of the Electoral Act on campaign financing as anything done outside the law would be considered as corrupt practices and dealt with accordingly.

“The audacious move by the Commission, according to its acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, is part of a collaborative initiative that will see the EFCC join forces with other law enforcement organizations in the country to enforce the provisions of the Electoral Act which criminalizes financial inducement by political parties and their candidates during electoral campaigns and at polling centres on election day.

“We will be working with all stakeholders especially from the security and intelligence community to stop the practice of vote buying and other financial malpractices that undermine the integrity of our elections. It is important to state here that those who offer bribes for votes are as guilty as those who receive such gratifications. My candid advice to the electorates is to be vigilant and resist the temptation to sell their votes.

“After the widely acclaimed peaceful transfer of power from a sitting president, who was the candidate of the then ruling party, to the candidate of the opposition party in 2015, the 2019 general election offers Nigeria the opportunity to deepen her emerging democratic culture that is free and participatory. We must guard this process by shunning all forms of electoral malpractices,” Magu said.

The EFCC advised Nigerian voters to be vigilant in the exercise of their franchise, by resisting monetary inducement for votes as those who dangle such carrots cannot be trusted to protect their interest once in power.

APC Governor, El-Rufai makes good on campaign promises, declares free education

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Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has declared free education for all female children in the state starting from the 2018/2019 academic year.

According to a circular dated September 17, 2018, schooling for girls in Senior Secondary Schools in Kaduna State will be free in the new academic year.

The Kaduna State governor has taken a total reform of the education sector by employing qualified teachers, renovating schools, distributing 5,000 tablets for secondary students and improving the conditions of teachers.

Nasir El-Rufai had in 2015 implemented a policy that provided free education for students in primary to JSS3. According to him, the policy had taken away the burden of tuition fees, school uniforms, feeding at the state boarding schools and other sundry charges from parents every year.

The governor had warned principals against collecting fees from parents. He told them they were going to be dealt with severely.

The governor explained that about 9 billion naira would be spent for standardized three sets of school uniforms for 1.1 million pupils in primary schools and other materials to make learning easy for them, while about 3.7 billion naira would be spent on fees and feeding for over 3,780 Junior Secondary Schools students across the state.

He added that the state would be paying about 200 million naira per term as school fees for students, while government supplement for feeding in boarding schools would gulp 200 million naira per term as well.

During the run in to the elections, former Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State dismissed as “laughable” El-Rufai’s claim that Kaduna children will be offered free education. He said El-Rufai’s promise on education cannot be realistic because the current APC governor does not believe in Nigeria’s educational system since all his children are studying abroad.

The move by the governor now has proven that the governor is a man of his words.