Election Reports From The States

Ogun

Eligible voters came out in their thousands in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to elect a new governor for the state.

The turnout was so massive that most polling units located within the Abeokuta metropolis witnessed a spill over of voters onto the streets and this prevented movement of security vehicles and those of observers from moving freely. Accreditation started in most of the polling booths located in Totoro Owu, Igbore, Ago Oba, Amolaso, Ibara, Kuto, Adigbe, Panseke, Onikolobo, MKO Abiola Way, Sokori, Ita Iyalode, Isabo and Oke Ilewo around 8.15am.

Accreditation was peaceful and devoid of rancour, except for a polling booth in Olomore where some voters complained of not finding their names in the voters’ register.

At the Ago Oba polling booth where former governor of the state, Olusegun Osoba voted, the exercise was largely peaceful. Speaking with PMNEWS after his accreditation, Osoba lauded the exercise and boasted that his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria will win with a landslide.

Osoba also disclosed that he received a report about some thugs shooting in Ijebu Igbo to disrupt the exercise. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also voted at his Totoro Owu family residence at exactly 1.40pm. He also commended the peaceful exercise.

On the post election riots which rocked Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano and Niger states, Obasanjo said Nigerians should try to understand one another and do everything to promote democracy.

He also debunked reports that he endorsed the ACN governorship candidate in the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, saying that he was misquoted.

Reacting to the report, OBJ stated: ” How can I, chairman, BOT of PDP endorse another party’s candidate when I have my own candidate? My party has its own candidate, so why should I endorse Amosun? Those who wrote that are only being mischievous.

“What I said was that I know Amosun very well and that If he becomes the governor, his performance will not be different from that of Gov. Gbenga Daniel. That does not translate to an endorsement,”he clarified.

The ACN candidate, Senator Amosun also voted at his Ita Iyalode ward in Abeokuta and expressed optimism of carrying the day.

— Lanre Babalola/Abeokuta

Oyo

The election was peaceful and orderly in virtually all the polling units in the town. Inec officials and materials arrived early, while accreditation of voters commenced shortly after 9am.Low turn-out of voters was observed at few polling centres, while others were beseiged by electorate who appeared upbeat to cast their votes.

The security arrangement was effective, as soldiers deployed to maintain order and peace were strategically positioned at General area in Itaki, which is the entry and exit point to the town. The soldiers were divided, with some intermitently patrolling major streets in a military pick-up van. Although, there was a disagreement between Inec officials and party agents at few polling units over the former’s insistence that a directive from the Inec secretariat had barred the agents from staying close to the polling stations. Both parties later met half way on the contentious directive in favour of the agents. A party agent of the

ACN alleged that PDP supporters told him that unused ballot papers be shared in order to boost the votes of individual guber contestants. Voting at exactly 12.32 at Sabo Tara, Ward 10, polling unit 003, PDP candidate and Oyo State governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, alongside his wife, said he was satisfied with the exercise. The governor said he was optimistic of victory based on the enthusiasm and support from his people. “You can see people trooping out and, as you know, this is my base and the people want to vote for their son,” Governor Akala said while answering questions from journalists.

On report that some buses were intercepted by security operatives, with over 800,000 thumb-printed ballot papers found in them and some arrests made at Olomi, Oluyole Local Govt in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the governor said, “it is unfortunate, but I don’t want to pre-empt the security operatives. ‘Let us allow them to do their jobs because I don’t speculate until I have my facts very well.”

The governor, going by results declared in most of the polling units, is leading in Ogbomosho, his home town.

The governor also distributed large sums of money to electorate and supporters.

— Folarin Ademosu/Ogbomosho

Katsina

Amid peaceful and orderly conduct by the electorate in Katsina State, the Governorship and State House of Assembly election commenced as early as 8:04 with the accreditation of would be voters. The exercise however witnessed a very low turnout while the bustling excitement noticed during the conduct of National Assembly and Presidential elections in the state was missing from today’s exercise.

At Governor Ibrahim Shema’s polling station at Television viewing centre at Hayin Gada in Dutsinma, out of the 1,174 were accredited to vote at the end of accreditation at about 12:30pm.

Similar turnouts were recorded at the popular Modoji Primary School where 4 polling stations were situated. At one of the polling units with code number 012 within the Modoji Primary School, out of the 1,316 registered voters, only a mere 449 voters were accredited to vote, just about 34 percent of the registered voters who were expected to cast their votes at the polling station.

The polling clerk who spoke to P.M.News told our reporter that he worked as the Polling Officer as the Youth Corps member who was the Polling Officer in the two previous elections failed to show up for duty as a fallout of the post Presidential election violence which rocked some Northern states including Katsina State. The Polling Clerk, Bashir Ibrahim Serki, also said that 1,300 ballot papers each were issued to the polling station by the Independent National Election Commission for the Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

At another polling station at the same venue with code number 013, similar low turnout of voters was also observed. Out of the 831 registered voters, only 384 persons were accredited to vote by close of accreditation, a mere 45.8 percent of registered voters.

Governor Shema, alongside his wife; Hajia Fatimah and their two sons were accredited at about 10:05 am but returned to cast their votes at about 12:45 pm. The Governor praised the security situation in the state, noting that the joint teams of Police, Civil Defence and military personnel have created a secured ambience in the state enabling voters to perform their civic responsibilities without fear or intimidation.

The Governor, who expressed appreciation to his supporters for coming out to vote, called on other contestants to follow the legal channels if they are not happy with the outcome of the election rather than incite their supporters to take to violence. He noted that it is God who determines who the winner of an election would be.

The Public Relations Officer of the electoral body in the state, Mr. Mohammed Musa, also confirmed that the turn out of voters in the state was remarkably low but could not attribute the low turnout to anything in particular. He observed that the turn out in the locations he visited in the Local Government Areas was not up to 50 percent.

The Commandant General of the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps, Mr. Ade Abolurin was also to the state to oversee the operations of his men who were drafted in the state as well as across the nation to shore up security during the elections.

He stated that 280 operatives of the Corp were deployed for this election and that he was in the state as part of monitoring and surveillance effort both to boost the morale of his men as well as ensure that they are doing the job for which they were deployed to do.

He noted that his organization had identified some areas as flashpoints where adequate security needed to be provided and this observation led to the deployment of his men across the federation.

— Nnamdi Felix/Katsina

Plateau

The governorship and other three elections, the senate,House of Reprentatives and state House of Assembly holding in Plateau state was peaceful and orderly.

When P.M.News went round some polling units at Jos North and Jos South , it observed that as early as 7am voters came out en masse for the accreditation exercise.

Though there was a slight tension created by the false alarm raised by some voters in the Hausa-Fulani dominated Jos North over alleged fake form ECA 8 (1) result sheets for the House of Representatives election, it was later doused. The police commissioner and top ranking reprentatives of other security agencies visited the affected 12 polling units at Abba Nashehu ward to intervene and guarantee them that the duplicates given were not fake before they agreed to be accredited .

However, some of the voters who spoke to P.M.News at Hill Station Junction,Bauchi Road, Mango Street, Enugu Road and Ladura Du polling units commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the orderly and smooth manner the accreditation exercise was carried out.

Nurudeen Mohammed the Chairman, Abba Nashehu ward ,he said INEC has proved itself to be a competent election umpire .

The election commenced exactly at 12.30 pm as sheduled but under a tight security arrangement and constant helicopter surveillance .

Both Governor Jonah Jang of PDP and Chris Giwa of Action Congress of Nigeria, who are governorship candidates expressed satisfaction over the manner the voters and INEC have conducted themselves and elections in the state.

Jang and Giwa also said they will accept the outcome of the elections and congratulate the winner of the governorship polls.

— Adi femi/Plateau

Ondo

Prospective voters in Ido-Ani, a town in Ose local government area of Ondo State were on Tuesday morning shell-shocked as they watched in awe as a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Denis Alonge slapped the State Information Commissioner, Mr Ranti Akrele.

Alonge, the immediate past Chairman of the Ose Local Government Council under the Olusegun Agagu administration and an indigene of Afo town, had attempted to ferry policemen to be posted to the town (Afo) on electoral duties in his personal vehicle from the Divisional Police Station in Ido-Ani, a decision which the Information Commissioner opposed as unethical.

It was this attempt by the Commissioner to protest the use of Alonge`s private car to carry the policemen by Alonge when he as a PDP chieftain had a stake in the election that resorted in Alonge dealing a slap on Akerele, who incidentally hails from Ido-Ani.

Interestingly, this incident took place in the presence of the Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Rafiu Adebayo.

In an interview with reporters, Mr Akerele expressed surprise at the assault, saying it was unwarranted adding that he kept his cool in the face of the assault because members of the PDP in the State were still smarting from the heavy losses they have been suffering in the state in all the previous elections.

“I have reported the assault to the police and am sure that they will do the right thing. Politics of bitterness, of assaults and belly-aching should be a thing of the past. It shouldn’t be a do-or-die affair and the likes of Alonge should learn from the current wind of positive democracy blowing not only through the country but the whole world at large,“ he stated.

Efforts to get Mr Denis Alonge at his Afo country home to state why he assaulted the Commissioner proved abortive as he was said to have gone underground for fear of being arrested while his telephone set was equally switched off.

— Kolawole Olabisi/Ondo

Nassarawa

There was stampede in Abuja Street, Lafia, Nasarawa State during a clash among some machete wielding youths in the area.

It took the prompt intervention of mobile policemen to put the crisis, which started at about 7am under control.

P.M.NEWS gathered that it was one of the youths identified as Excellency, who also resides on the street, that started the crisis.

Excellency, according to those who know him, was a former member of the Nigerian Defence Academy, but was withdrawn from the school when he started having mental problems.

He actually went berserk this morning when he took to the street and started smashing the windscreen of motorists on the streets. He was also beating Okada riders with a big iron rod in his hand.

Efforts by other youths in the area to arrest him proved abortive as it resulted in a free for all.

— Bayo Adetu/Lafia

Oyo

Governorship, House Assembly and Ibadan North West/Sought West Federal Constituency election held in Oyo State amidst pocket of crisis as the elections recorded a high turn out.

Among the areas of the state where crisis were said to have been recorded were Ogbomosho, Ibadan East, Iwo Road and Olomi Areas of Ibadan, Iseyin, and Atiba in Oyo town.

There were reports that over 60 suspects were arrested in connection with electoral offences across the state but it has been difficult confirming the actual arrest so far made as the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tunji Ajimuda was not picking his calls and the only time he did, he said, “I will get back to you”.

P.M.News saw three hoodlums that were arrested by about ten policemen at Kudeti, Ibadan in the compound of the Oyo State Deputy Governor, Taofeek Arapaja.

But the Oyo State Commissioner of Police in Charge of Election, Mr. Salihu Hashimu Argungu confirmed that some suspects were arrested in Oyo and Iseyin, stressing that he did not have full detail of their involvement in election malpractices.

P.M.News confirmed that 30 suspects were arrested in Iwo road with ballot papers as well as 22 suspects in Iseyin with ballot papers, ballot boxes and dangerous weapons but whom they were working for were not known at the time of filing this report.

An unconfirmed report has it that agents of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were driven away from the poling units at Stadium and Apake in Ogbomosho by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) thugs.

There was crisis in the ward of Honourable Folake Olunloyo which is Ward 11 unit 24 in Ibadan East Local Government where PDP asked people that have been given money to be showing their ballot papers to be sure that they voted for Honorable Olunloyo for Federal House of Representatives. This was kicked against by the electorate and other party agents and peace was eventually restored after the intervention of the police who ordered that nobody should display his ballot papers and this delayed voting in the unit till after 4pm.

Another unconfirmed report revealed that the son of the garrison commander of Ibadan Politics, late Chief Lamidi Adedibu was arrested for moving around Ibadan city and take to Mapo police station but he was later been released. Also a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Honourable Esuola Babatunde of PDP was arrested in Atiba Area of Oyo town by a combined team of policemen and soldiers.

However, the three governorship candidates, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of PDP, Senator Rasheed Ajimobi of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Senator Rasheed Ladoja of Accord Party as well as the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Taofeek Arapaja adjudged the election peaceful.

While Akala adjudged the conduct of the governorship election satisfactory, Ladoja said that apart from pockets of crisis, the election was peaceful. He condemned politicians who have been misinforming people about him, saying that he never stepped down for anybody and he has never had any negotiation with Akala that if he wins, he would work with him.

Ladoja stressed that he would accept the result of the election adding, “I will abide by the voice of the people.”

Senator Ajimobi lauded INEC and security operatives especially the police and soldiers for policing the state very well during the election. Confirming a large turn out, he condemned act of thuggery, snatching of ballot papers and boxes during the election.

Also, the leader of ACN, Alhaji Lam Adesina charged the police to investigate those that were arrested.

However, voters were eager to know the result of the election as counting started in some polling units.

— Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan