* Accuses INEC of disenfranchising 8m voters
Vice presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Mr. Peter Obi, has said that a situation where Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) adopted different measures for the
conduct of elections for different parts of the country is not
acceptable.
Obi, who addressed journalists at his Onitsha residence on the
conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections,
observed that the card readers were used in conducting elections,
especially in PDP strongholds even when the card readers did not
work while accreditation was done manually in its opponents’ areas
and the results were accepted.
This is why, he reasoned, Anambra state that registered 1.4
million voters could record 600,000 votes while small states like
Yobe and Boko Haram ravaged-states like Borno returned high
figures.
Even at that, Obi continued, there were several polling units
where voting could not take place because of non-availability of
card readers while in other areas, especially in Lagos, Igbo
residents were prevented from voting and were asked to return to
their states to vote.
He said: “I noticed on the day of the election that several card
readers were not working. I also noticed that during the voting the
process was clumsy because card readers were not functioning and
where they worked they were slow.
“They did not work in highly concentrated areas. This is why in
Anambra of the over 1.4 million registered voters only 600,000
voted.
“Yet in some parts of this country people voted without card
readers, yet all votes counted”.
Obi also said that votes were inflated in some states where All
Progressives Congress won and wondered how many states in the North
with low population density returned votes more than what they
registered.
He lamented that ordinarily Nigeria ought to build on the
success of 2015 general elections but this has not been the
case.
Obi said what was witnessed in the 2019 general election is not
different from the demand of many Nigerians for a level playing
ground.
He said the plan to disenfranchise the South was clear, well
articulated and planned.
He added that for those of them who were contestants in the
election there were intimidation and harassment leading to the
burning of the card readers without anyone being arrested.
Obi said even if PDP had won, he would hold the same views
because the process was wrong.
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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission has arraigned Dr. Jinga Mayo, the Executive Secretary,
Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board before Justice Nathan Musa of High
Court 1 Yola on a three-count charge for embezzlement.
Dr. Mayo was charged for knowingly furnishing false return of
the sum of N69.2 million received by him to pay committee members
of the Adamawa State Christian Pilgrims Board for 2016 pilgrims
operation in Israel. He allegedly did not pay them but returned
seemingly duly signed payment vouchers and acknowledgement receipts
of the payment by each member of the said committee, contrary to
and punishable under Section 16 of the Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Act 2000.
The accused was also charged for conferring corrupt advantage
upon himself, contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, and also for
making false statement to an officer of ICPC contrary to Section 25
(1) (a) and punishable under Section 25 (1) (b) of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
When the three charges were read, Mayo pleaded not guilty to any
of them. It was on this ground that the prosecuting lawyer, Anas
Mohammed Kolo, prayed the court to fix a date for trial.
The defence counsel, J.E Owe, informed the court that he had
filed an application for bail before the court.
Justice Nathan Musa, after listening to both counsel gave the
accused person bail in the sum of N30 million, with one surety, who
must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction.
The matter was then adjourned to 5th and
6th March 2019 for the commencement of trial.
Signed: Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, mni
Spokesperson for the Commission