[ONDO NEWS] BLOODY CLASH AS 1.2M VOTERS GO TO
POLLING UNIT TODAY.
*INEC, Mimiko others bicker
*INEC’s compromised – Mimiko, Fayose
*Stop making inflammatory statements, INEC cautions Mimiko
*APC’s plot to rig election – PDP Reps caucus
*Police to arrest anyone with more than N5000 at polling booths
*Vow to provide adequate security
by: tunde Martinez, funmi ademolure, vebelo tuniche, adetunde miyinola and toying akinlaanu.
A BLOODY clash broke out in Owo area of Ondo State, yesterday, as political thugs went on rampage and thereby raising anxiety ahead of today’s governorship election.
Many people were reportedly injured during the clash said to be between supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP .
An unconfirmed source said people were killed and houses damaged. However, the Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Joseph, denied any death but confirmed that some people were injured during the clash.
This is coming as some stakeholders traded allegations and counter-allegations of manipulating the election.
Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayo Fayose accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC of deliberately working against the PDP just as the House of Representatives caucus of the PDP alleged that the APC had perfected plots to rig the election.
In a quick counter, the Ondo Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC of INEC, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, said the electoral umpire is not in favour of any party and advised Governor Mimiko to desist from making inflammatory statements.
However, the police assured that there will be adequate security during the poll, warning that anyone with more than N5000 on him or her at the polling centres would be arrested to curb voters inducement and manipulation of the exercise.
The election is holding in spite of calls for shift by the PDP Governorship Candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, Governor Mimiko, the PDP hierarchy and some groups to allow Jegede, who the Court of Appeal reinstated as standard bearer, on Wednesday, time to campaign like his other competitors.
With the INEC insisting on going ahead with the election today because it was not its fault that the PDP was having intra-party crises, the election umpire has been berated by Mimiko, Fayose and others.
INEC compromised—Mimiko
Mimiko, yesterday, raised an alarm that the INEC has been compromised and that there are plans to declare a pre-determined result.
Speaking at a press conference, in Akure, he said that the commission was about
“ to foist injustice on the people of the state.”
The governor who lamented that Ondo was been treated as a conquered state said that this is “complete impunity and open rape of justice by INEC’’ because the PDP candidate was given the voters register “just 48 hours before the election contrary to the Electoral Act which prescribed 30 days before the election while he is not sure who his party agents are.’’
Governor Mimiko wondered how the commission expected Jegede to raise money within the short period and meet other urgent needs required by the Electoral Act before today’s election.
Accusing the INEC of deliberately erecting hurdles against the PDP, Mimiko said the electoral commission discarded all legal advice not to substitute Eyitayo Jegede leading to the long battle to retrieve the ticket that ended on Wednesday; refused to release the list of voters register to the PDP until on Thursday; refused to publish Jegede’s name for 30 days as stipulated in Section 34 of the Electoral Act 2010; denied Eyitayo Jegede the right to submit his party agents’ list at least 7 days before the election as stipulated in Section 45 of the Electoral Act 2010 among many others; and as of yesterday had not given PDP collation tags for Ward Collation officers.
His words:
“We were expected to run a race with our hands tied behind our back while INEC also goes ahead to foist a wuruwuru to the answer result. Every resident of Ondo State knows we are free and fair people who however abhor impunity and open rape of justice. We shall not take this!
“In this instance, injustice stares us in the face and we are about being treated like slaves and a conquered people in our own country. INEC is being forced to subvert its processes, and imperil the Ondo election.. We are at a point where history requires us to say some truths to save our state from preconceived lawlessness and its ramifying implications.
“We have just been told that the same team of election ad hoc staff, which masterminded the largely controversial Edo election have been sent to our state to deliver a preconceived result for Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, the APC candidate. I have to state this here and now, that our people will not accept the method, men and process unleashed on Edo.
“We reject unequivocally the mission of this team in our State. The Edo team did not only call off collation by 9pm on election day, party agents, monitors and journalists were ordered out of the collation centres allowing for final subversion of the will of the electorates. We shall not allow such an ungodly process to be repeated in our dear state.
“The team it sent to Edo, which it is sending to Ondo is peopled by rabid supporters of APC who have displayed their brazen disdain for justice and fair play in the Edo election.
“If INEC were to be truly objective, it would have at least erred on the side of caution and safe Ondo from the polluting influence of this ad hoc team. I am by this asking the good people of Ondo State to be vigilant and insist on the sanctity of the ballot.’’
PDP can’t hold us to ransom – INEC
Reacting to Mimiko’s allegations, the Ondo State REC said the commission is not biased and “INEC has no interest in any particular candidate. It is wrong to say we are protecting the interest of anybody. I don’t know Akeredolu, Oke or Jegede”.
Agbaje pleaded with the governor from making inflammatory statement, adding: “PDP ought to have put its house in order before now. What of the other 26 political parties, should they share in the crisis of the PDP? If a footballer has an injury, will the match be postponed? How can one political hold us into ransom? We even mediated in their internal crisis but to no avail. It is not our fault. They are only whipping up sentiments. It is not good for the Chief Executive of a state to make such statement. He should create an atmosphere of peace and harmony.’’
Insisting that the commission is ready, Agbaje told Saturday Vanguard that all sensitive materials were dispatched to the 18 local government areas of the state on Thursday while officials and ad hoc staff would move to their various local government and units before the poll.
Disclosing that about 1.2m voters will participate in today’s election, he said: “We have been assured of adequate security by the Nigerian Police as the lead agency in election security. We had a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security where elaborate deployment and operational plan was agreed upon.
“This involves early and adequate deployment for general security as well as specific deployment for the protection of staff and material from our state Headquarters to the 18 local government.
“We have been assured by the security agencies that any act contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act will be promptly dealt with. This is without prejudice to the right of citizens who may wish to stay some distance away from the polling units after voting to witness the counting of ballots.’’
Voters to be thoroughly searched – Police
The police, which had deployed 26,000 personnel, 20 gunboats , 12 Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs and 300 vehicles to Ondo for the election, warned those who harbouring thoughts of rigging the poll to think otherwise.
The Police authorities have vowed to arrest anyone having more than N5,000 on him at the polling units.
The DIG in-charge of Operations, Habila Joshak, said, in Akure, that instructions have been given to security agents at the polling units to arrest anyone with more than that amount in his possession.
Joshak pointed out that an order had been given that the voters be “thoroughly searched before casting their votes.’’
The move, according to him, is to prevent politicians from inducing the voters.
Ondo State Commissioner of Police Commissioner, Hilda Harrison, said the borders of the state would be closed by 8pm (yesterday) while men of the command will be stationed around the state to conduct stop and search to ensure that nobody enters the state with any incriminating item.
“I want to warn people, most especially those who have negative intents to be warned that we are out for them and we will not hesitate to deal with anyone trying to truncate the process of this election.
She added that By 12am today, there will be total shut down of the boundary, movement of vehicles will be restricted during the election too, from 6am to 8pm ‘’because we realise that election at times usually drag into the night .’’
Dickson tasks INEC, security agencies, stakeholders on peaceful poll
Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, has called on stakeholders and critical actors in the process to ensure that nothing is done to undermine peace, security and stability.
The governor in a statement in Yenagoa also called on INEC and security agencies to act in a non-partisan manner according to their constitutional mandate, to provide a level playing field for the conduct of peaceful polls.
He warned against acts that are capable of undermining the security and stability of Ondo State in a desperate attempt to deliver any pre-determined outcomes because such untoward action could have far reaching negative consequences, beyond Ondo state’’
INEC has merged with APC – Fayose
Also accusing INEC of bias and planning to deploy the returning officers it used for the Edo election, Fayose said the electoral umpire had become part of the APC.
Why should those that will conduct election be hidden from Nigerians? Is election now a secret affair? The sad reality confronting the electoral process in Nigeria today is that apart from the APC, other political parties are now contesting elections against INEC.
It is clear that the Returning Officers already have fake results that they will announce to Nigerians as they did in Edo State.
Evidently, democracy in Nigeria has suffered a serious setback and it will take the insistence and resistance of the people of Ondo State for their votes to count tomorrow (today).’’
How APC’s plotting to rig poll – PDP Reps caucus
Members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the PDP, yesterday alleged of plot by the APC to manipulate the election.
The lawmakers, who restated calls for the election to be shifted, in a statement by their leader and Minority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor, said: “While many are making a logical call for the postponement of the election in view of the apparent disadvantage that our candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede is confronted with; we had hoped that the Independent National Electoral Commission would consider the logical reasons being advanced for such an extension, in the strict interest of fair play and justice.
“Nonetheless, we find it necessary to draw attention to needless shenanigans, desperate scheming and unimaginable manipulations that had been engineered by the ruling APC, its known appendages and its unseen hands towards crushing the will of the people in Ondo state by all means…
“Indeed, unspoken realities within the APC itself indicates that in Ondo state, there is a battle of APC versus APC as its Abuja forces that are not on the ground at all are backing an official candidate while the leadership of the party in the South-west is backing another, unofficially.
“While the two parties in the ‘APC versus APC battle’ for Ondo state have mobilized huge personnel and arsenal of humongous cash from Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the South-West, we note the reassuring victory that our candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, transparently achieved when he triumphed over desperate and negative forces at the Court of Appeal.’’
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