Elections Must Be Cancelled In Rivers State, not Free and Fair Says Amaechi

In an exclusive interview with SaharaTV, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi says that he believes that today’s presidential elections held in River State were irreparably compromised, and the results must be cancelled.
Amaechi, all All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, alleges that interference on the party of the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has adversely influenced the result of the contest. Claiming the PDP is working with officials and security agents to rig the contest by withholding result sheets, Amaechi says the results of the election today in Rivers cannot be trusted.
“The police [are] arresting everyone that is arrestable, the police carrying ballot boxes, they are also aiding PDP supporters,” Amaechi said.
He added all the election equipment and materials, especially result sheets, are in PDP agent hands. "I couldn’t vote. In the country, we’re doing very well. In Rivers State, we discovered that all the SPOs (supervising presiding officers) have stolen all the result sheets and disappeared. So we said that there will be no election until we see the result sheets."
Amaechi claims he was accompanied by members of the press, for purposes of documenting the developments there. "I went with cameramen. I went with Channels, AIT and NTA. They did not see anywhere that we went to that you could identify that there were result sheets."
Expressing his disappointment with INEC’s management of the electoral process in Rivers State, Amaechi also listed the names of officials he claims are working for the PDP, and how their affiliations ultimately jeopardize the contest. "Don’t forget that the INEC commissioner here was employed by the president,” he said. “So as far as she’s concerned, she says that there was an election and that all the result sheets are in the field."
The two-term governor stated that voters in Rivers State should be calm, and not resort to violence. His statement comes as reports of violence grow, according to conversations with representatives from the CLEEN Foundation.
At the time of this report, yet another death was reported at a ward in Ogale, Eleme local government area in Rivers State. This joins a string of violent and criminal incidences that have characterized election day in the state.

Source: saharareporters

INEC website hacked

The website of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC charged with the responsibility of conducting elections in Nigeria have been hacked. Details of the hackers are still unknown.

Fayose Is An Embarassment To Our Family says Elder Brother

Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose’s eldest brother, Segun, has appealed to the governor to stop embarrassing the family.According to the Nation, frowning at Fayose’s remarks towards Obasanjo and Buhari, the United Kingdom-based accountant said in Ibadan..

“It is a pity Nigerians are celebrating criminals. I am angry with Nigerians for electing somebody like Ayodele as governor. My children cannot come to Nigeria because of the terrible situation of our country. 

I don’t have a relationship with any of our leaders because of their criminality and anybody who says I collected money from  the opposition should step forward to challenge me. Ekiti and Nigeria are bigger than Fayose’s name and both names should be protected.I don’t want anything from anybody, but Ayo should stop insulting and abusing my father’s name. As a result of Fayose’s attitude, many people believe the Fayose family is rude but it is far from the truth.

“I have spoken to him many times, but he refused to listen. Buhari and Obasanjo are old enough to be his father and I don’t know why he should be insulting them.
“I am always sad with the situation of this country. Ayo’s arrogance is one of the reasons I said people should not vote for him prior to the Ekiti governorship election. If all I am saying is not true, my six children should die and I should end up in shame.

“Most of us abroad are not happy with the situation of Nigeria. We are sad. When people call me from Ekiti to complain about Ayo, I tell them to forgive the family. People should not see Ayo as an ambassador of our family.”
Source: The Nation

She's a village masquerade providing a momentary comic relief says Ekiti APC

In a statement by the State Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, recently, the party noted that her speech lacked the grace of a First Lady.
“Throughout her speech, she manifested an image of a village masquerade providing a momentary comic relief to a poverty-ravaged community not in a hurry for socio-economic salvation.”
“You would have thought that the First Lady would list her husband’s achievements in Ekiti State and then give the people some hope that her husband would build upon those achievements, but she engaged in a duet with her host and soul mate, Ayo Fayose, in an empty campaign comedy to a thoroughly dazed enlightened Ekiti people.”
“It was a perfect duet by two comedians that one does not need any counsel‎ that Nigeria must be rescued from the captivity of the costumed people of power without responsibility,” he said.
The APC also criticized Patience for relentless attack on the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari
She was consistently painting Buhari a man that would herd Nigerians into jail without committing any crime whereas Buhari only insisted that criminals during his coming administration would go to jail.
“She said she was not ready to prepare food for Fayose in jail. Inadvertently, Jonathan was telling Nigerians ‎that Fayose is a candidate for the prison if Buhari wins,” he added.
Olatubosun challenged patience to tell Ekiti people the benefits of SURE-P ‎she flaunted at the rally, saying the programme was just a bazaar for a few selfish party leaders without any benefit for the entire citizenry.
He also faulted her claim that women were appointed into government positions in Ekiti State by Fayose, saying this was a clear case of falsehood, which had become synonymous with Jonathan’s administration.
“Fayose has a four-man cabinet running his government. Apart from the Secretary to the State Government, where are the other women Fayose has appointed? Mrs. Jonathan only came to Ekiti to entertain in a political theatre full of deceits and false props constructed by Fayose for maximum personal profits,” Olatubosun explained.
Stressing that Ekiti people had made up their minds to vote Buhari, he added that ‎they had become wiser and would not vote a regime that did not hold any promise for their future.

Again, Court bars soldiers from polling stations

A Federal high court sitting in Lagos has barred the Federal Government from deploring soldiers to supervise the forthcoming general elections.‬
Delivering judgement on a suit filed by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, a member of the House of Reps representing Surulere Federal Constituency 2 on the platform of the APC against the President, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief Of Army, Chief of Air Force, Chief of Naval Staff and Attorney General of Federation, the presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba said it was unconstitutional to deploy military for the supervision of election purposes without the approval of the national assembly.‬
Before now, the court of appeal have held that soldiers should not have been use for the Ekiti state governorship election by the appealed brought by the APC.

Tambuwal believes APC is the government in-waiting, Preaches No-Violence Message

The speaker, House of Representatives and Sokoto State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Aminu Tambuwal has predicted victory for the APC  ahead of the presidential election holding on 28th March.
Tambuwal, who spoke in Wamakko local government area during the party’s zonal rally held over the weekend, said there are “only six days left for the APC to record overwhelming electoral victory at the polls.”
Tambuwal who urged supporters to turn out en-masse to exercise their franchise, also said they should not be scared of anybody. He said that they should not also look for trouble or be violent in their actions, saying victory for the APC is certain.

Undemocratic forces against election holding says Falana

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has warned that the March 28 and April 11 elections may be sabotaged by anti-democratic forces, which could lead the military to stage a coup d’etat and set in place an interim government.
Mr. Falana, who stated this in a speech delivered at the Foursquare Gospel Church owned Life Theological Seminary, Ikorodu, on Sunday, said despite assurances by President Goodluck Jonathan and the Independent National Electoral Commission, there was no indication that the election will hold as billed.
He also warned of the likelihood of post-election violence should the vote go forward.
Both President Jonathan and the Independent Electoral Commission chair, Attahiru Jega, have maintained that the new election dates are sacrosanct.
“There is no indication that the election will hold,” he said. “If the INEC goes ahead with the conduct of the elections there are fears that the exercise may be sabotaged by anti-democratic forces. If the election holds the results may be rejected leading to a post-election violence which may threaten the corporate existence of the nation.
“In the circumstance, an interim government may be established and be saddled with the task of preparing the country for another political transition. In the alternative, a coup d’etat that may be staged by the top echelon of the armed forces under the pretext of restoring law and order and fighting the menace of insurgency. The military wing of the ruling parties succeeded in Mali and Burkina Faso. But having divided the country along ethnic and religious lines, the masterminds of the political crisis are not likely to profit from the perfidy.”
He therefore, asked Nigerians to prepare “for a long drawn out battle for the liberation of the country from political and economic predators”.
In his speech, the lawyer commended the renewed onslaught against the deadly terror group, Boko Haram, in the North-East region of Nigeria by both the federal government and the Nigerian military.
He, however, asked the military to discontinue the court martial of several solders who had earlier complained about lack of sophisticated weapons to face the insurgents.
He said the government’s admittance that it purchased new equipment for the fight to succeed, meant that the soldiers were justified in the earlier protest.
He also asked the Federal Government to implement the recommendations of the Ambassador Usman Gilmatiri presidential panel on insurgency in the north east region and embark on a special programme to address the problems of child education and youth unemployment in the region. 
On the state of the nation’s economy, Mr. Falana said the bulk of the intervention funds created by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration was for the rich.
According to Mr. Falana, the funds including- Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (N69billion); Commercial Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (N200billion); the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (N200billion); Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (N200billion); the SMEs Restructuring and Refinancing Scheme (N200billion) and Power and Airlines Intervention Fund (N300billion) are yet to have effect on the economy.  
“Sequel to the crash in the price of crude oil the Federal Government announced that austerity measures would be imposed on the hapless Nigerian people,” he said. “Because of the gross mismanagement of the economy by the government and its allies workers are now salaries for months. After the elections the people are going to be made to bear the brunt of the looting of the treasury and costs of running the government.
“But in spite of the grinding poverty in the land Nigerian legislators are said to be the highest paid in the world. The country’s public officers equally receive the highest estacodes in the world. With over 10 aircraft Nigeria has the largest presidential fleet among the developing nations in the world.”
The lawyer also accused the Central Bank of Nigeria of “dollarization of the economy”.
“In a bid to dollarize the economy and destroys the Nigerian economy the CBN supplies millions of dollars to the foreign exchange market on a weekly basis,” he said. “Although Nigeria has become the largest importer of the United States dollars in the world neither the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nor the World Bank has ever questioned the reckless devaluation of the economy. Even, the National Assembly which is debating the 2015 Appropriation Bill has not deemed it to consider the deleterious effects of the increasing devaluation of the national currency on the implementation of the Budget.”
The media was also not left out as Mr. Falana accused the media of diverting attention from Nigeria’s problem of youth unemployment, infrastructural decay, insecurity, corruption, currency devaluation to giving undue prominence to the campaign of calumny and character assassination embarked upon by some politicians.
“The media have thrown caution to the winds by colluding with certain politicians to divert attention from the crises of youth unemployment, infrastructural decay, insecurity, corruption, currency devaluation etc,” he said. “Thus, by giving undue prominence to the campaign of calumny and character assassination embarked upon by some politicians the media have denied the Nigerian people the opportunity to make informed decisions on the candidates of their choice.”