As Bayelsa and Kogi electorate march to the polls, there are palpable tension and fear, just as there are high expectations from the political umpire to deliver. Will the elections be another litmus test for INEC, security agencies and the political players, KEHINDE OSASONA asks?
INEC fully prepared
Few days ago, when asked whether preparations towards the smooth conduct of the elections had been achieved, the chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professsor Mahmood Yakubu, said, “So far, the commission has successfully implemented 12 out of the 14-point plan for the election as required by law. We have just two more activities outstanding.”
Yakubu added: “The normal process of inspection and distribution of sensitive materials within the state will be done in the presence of party leaders, security agencies and the media.
For Kogi, he said: “We are combining the governorship election with the court-ordered re-run election for the Kogi West Senatorial District in seven Local Government Areas.”
All eyes on Bayelsa, Kogi
Barely five days to the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa, the political temperature in the states moved a notch higher as political parties have started accusing each other of plots to deploy armed thugs.
Meanwhile, the need to curtail risk of violence and other conflicts in the two states came to the fore again at different public fora, just as the countdown to gubernatorial and legislative elections in Kogi and Bayelsa draw near.
However, pundits in Bayelsa and Kogi have their reservations about the much-craved for peace. They hinged their fears on the culture of political violence which have always characterize elections in both states,
For Basir Amedu a political commentator and resident of Lokoja; there is need to beef up security in Kogi state ahead of the election, saying that it is not enough to just carry out sensitization and what have you.
He said, “This state has a history of election violence and I put it to you that this will not be an exception. Fine, INEC, NOA and various organizations have tried to sensitize and stress the need for peaceful election in the state. I still think that government must not be fooled by this initial peaceful atmosphere. The truth here is that peace in Kogi is still fragile and must be properly managed before, during and after election,”
Some other analysts have also observed threats to peace and security of lives in Kogi. According to them, the burning of Social Democratic Party (SDP), secretariat in Lokoja by alleged political thugs was a pointer to more troubles looming.
Blueprint reports that the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the election, Natasha Akpoti, had during her visit to the burnt secretariat traced the development to political intolerance on the part of players in the Kogi political firmament.
Just few days ago too, Natasha Akpoti, had accused Governor, Yahaya Bello of deploying hoodlums with machine guns to her party head office to unleash terror and abduct her because she’s become a threat to his re-election bid.
In a 10-minute video she shared on social media, Akpoti said, “It’s all burnt down. Nobody could come close because the APC thugs were here all through the night, shooting ammunition in the air.
I am actually standing in the SDP office in Lokoja. What exactly is Yahaya Bello doing? Do we have a president that watches? What about Oshiomole? What about APC? Are they proud of their product?
“I’m calling out El-Rufai. You told me in Russia that you are going to support the return of Yahaya Bello, is this what you stand for? Amaechi, Fayemi of Ekiti, is this what you all stand for? Are we not human beings in Kogi state? Don’t we deserve to have a good leader? Are we slaves? Are we not Nigerians? Are we not protected by the constitution?” the SDP candidate queried.
Condemning the attack, Tajudeen Adefisoye, the only SDP member in the National Assembly, said: “This attack on our party secretariat and members of the party in Lokoja is condemnable and those in charge of the state’s security architecture must get to the root of it. It is most unfortunate that the failure of security agents to act was what emboldened the political thugs to set the whole secretariat ablaze.”
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Oluyemi Fasipe, the lawmaker noted: “We are only preparing for an election and not a war. Those trying to create an atmosphere of war in the run-up to the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State should be reined in as a matter of urgency.”
In Bayelsa, the story is the same
Less than 5 days to election in Bayelsa state, there was pandemonium in Nembe Ogbolomabiri in Nembe local government area of Bayelsa state.
Report had it that there were exchange of gunfire and between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) during a governorship rally organized by the ruling party.
While the sounds of bullets fade, about three people including a staff of Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation, Simon Onu and his driver reportedly died while trying to manoeuvre his vehicle from the troubled spot.
Two other persons identified as supporters of the PDP were also killed in the bloody shooting, while a policeman got a gun shot on the leg.
The attackers, it was also learnt, opened fire on the protocol bus of the Bayelsa state Government House along the junction between Bassambiri and Ogbolomabiri.
Confirming the incident, spokesperson of Nembe council of chiefs, Nengi James, said there was a clash between rival supporters of the PDP and APC in Nembe resulting in injuries.
He said: “I can confirm that supporters of the PDP and APC clashed in Nembe with some persons sustaining various degrees of injury. However, no death has been recorded”.
Also, a prominent indigene of the area and former senator representing Bayelsa East, Nimi Barigha-Amange, condemned the development in its entirety.
He, however, warned that no individual should hide under any political platform to breach the already existing peace and harmonious relationship amongst the people in Nembe.
New twist in Bayelsa, Kogi
But as that was yet to simmer, there appears to be a new twist to developments in Bayelsa state two days to election as federal high court sitting in Yenagoa, Thursday declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not have a governorship candidate in the forthcoming election in Bayelsa state.
Presided over by Justice Jane Inyang, the court declared that the governorship primary conducted by the APC in Bayelsa state was not done in compliance with the guidelines and the constitution of the party and, therefore, the party has no candidate.
Lokpobiri, a former minister of state for agriculture, had approached the court, asking it to declare him, and not David Lyon, the candidate of the APC.
Asked what the next option for his client was, Fitzgerald Olorogun said “We’ll do the needful. But for now, the pronouncement of the court is that APC has no candidate.”
Recalled also that a federal high court in Abuja had on a petition filed by Degi-Eremienyo by the PDP disqualified Mr Lyon’s running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, from participating in the forthcoming election on the grounds that he provided conflicting information on the documents he presented to INEC.
Bello under fire
In the same vein, the SDP has instituted a suit where it is challenging Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello’s eligibility to contest for the Nov. 16 governorship election in the state. It is billed for hearing (Friday) at the Federal High Court, Abuja before Justice Inyang Ekwo.
In the originating summon, which is instituted by Natasha Akpoti, the Social Democratic Party (SDP)’s governorship candidate in the poll, while SDP candidate is the plaintiff, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
In the suit, dated Oct. 10 and marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1221/2019, filed by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, on Akpoti’s behalf, sought the court’s determination on the eligibility of Governor Bello in the Saturday election, having allegedly involved in double registration as a voter.
Akpoti said “that by his willful act of making double registration as a voter, Yahaya Bello, candidate of the 1st defendant is not a fit and proper person to be allowed by the 2nd defendant to vote or be voted for in the forthcoming Kogi state governorship election, having committed an act of electoral fraud. “That Mr Yahaya Bello the candidate of the 1st Defendant was initially registered as a voter sometime in 2011 in Abuja, by the 2nd defendant.
“That Bello, the candidate of the 1st defendant again fraudulently procured from the 2nd defendant. a second registration as a voter on 23rd May, 2017, at Government House.
Going forward
But in given democracy the right meaning as propounded by INEC boss, Mahmood Yakubu, it would not be out of place to continually preach a hitch-free conduct of the election to the hearings of all stakeholders.
More importantly, the slogan, “Election No Be War, Vote not fight,” should also be imbibed as Bayelsa and Kogi march to the polls on Saturday. Will peace eludes Bayelsa and Kogi in Saturday elections? The answer apparently is left for posterity.
