INEC in For More Trouble, As Electorates Vow To Disrupt Polls In The Wards

Having survived the verbal onslaught from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party with regard to last weekend's Mock test of Smart Card Reader Machines, the Independent National Electoral Commission appears to be in for more trouble.

Several electorates have threatened to disrupt polls in the wards should they fail to collect their permanent voters cards and as such be disenfranchised from the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria.

It beats one's imagination that those threatening fire and brimstone are holding INEC officials responsible for their inability to collect their PVCs, this is despite the fact that the commission bowed down to pressures from above to shift elections in the country by six-weeks.

Investigations by Saturday Independent in some local governments in the southern part of Kaduna State showed that most registered voters have, despite several attempts to get their PVCs could not.

A registered voter in Sanga Local Government Area of the state, Joe Janda, in a telephone interview, said: "I have, since the commencement of the PVC collection, went to the venue over 10 times with my temporary voter card (TVC) so that I can get my PVC, but till now I have not gotten it.

"I have two wives and children who are eligible to vote, but it is only one of my daughters that has been able to get her PVC. Those in charge keep telling us that we should come tomorrow, but till now, we have not gotten our cards."

When asked whether he and his wives are the only ones affected, Janda said: "It is not peculiar to me. Many people in our village and other neighbouring villages have not gotten their PVCs too."

In Ibadan, Oyo State capital, the INEC spokesman, Ayodele Folami, said that as at Thursday, the commission had distributed 1,646,109 PVCS out of the available 2,381,102 PVCS (amounting to 69.13 per cent) leaving a balance of 734,993 PVCS to be collected.

The Assistant National Secretary of Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Bayo Olateju, told our reporter that it would be foolhardy to expect 100 per cent collection of PVCS before the elections in view of the non-static nature of human beings.

He said: "From my personal experience, two of my children, who registered during the last registration exercise, are no more in the country. So their cards are likely to be among those cards yet to be collected."

The spokesman of INEC in Abia State, Edwin Enabor, said that over 84 per cent of the registered voters in the state have collected their PVCs and the commission was excited about the development.

According to him, the electoral umpire in the state was now more than ready to conduct the elections, adding that with all the preparations, the execrcise would be very free and very fair, such that it would exceed the expectations of many skeptics.

In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, those who spoke with our correspondent said that they had visited the PVCs distribution centres without getting their cards, a clear indication that they would not participate in the forthcoming elections.

An artisan, Johnson Briggs, said: "This is very annoying. INEC keeps telling Nigerians that they are ready for the elections but many people are yet to collect their cards. What are they going to use to vote?

"This election is very important for everybody and I will not be happy if I don't vote just because I don't have a PVC. I think that Prof. Attahiru Jega should allow the use of the temporary voter cards (TVCs) so that those who could not get their PVCs could participate in the elections."

When contacted on phone, the Public Relations Officer of INEC in the state, Tonia Nwobi, said that even after the elections "people will still complain. Such complaints are expected.

"Please help us tell them that PVCs are distributed at wards. They should go there and sort out their cards."

In Owerri, a tricycle operator from Oru East Local Government Area, Onyedinma Obiwuru, warned that unless the PVCs are evenly distributed before the dates for the election, the whole thing would amount to an exercise in futility.

"Everybody is interested in the election but the problem is that till now, some areas have not received the PVCs, which is the only instrument for one to cast his vote. I had expected that by now, all arrangements would have been concluded so that some people will not be disenfranchised."

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Opinion: What Was President Jonathan Thinking? By Sabella Ogbobode Abidde

From the moment President Goodluck Jonathan knew and or decided he was going to contest the 2015 Presidential Election, he should not have picked a fight with Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and a few other persons and powerhouses. Thinking about it now, I am sure that he regrets it. More than anybody else, Governor Amaechi pulled the roof on the President's head and in the process preempted the president's planned victory parade. But really, what was the president and his wife thinking when they picked on a man whose support they needed? Hubris, maybe?

Second, what impelled or compelled the president to enter the race this time around? You look and or listen to him and you get the feeling that he is exhausted, frustrated, uninterested and angry. He was a deputy governor, a governor, a vice president and then acting president before becoming the president in his own right. That should have been enough for him. Or for anyone else in his position. Really, it should have been. After all, 1999-2015 is a long time to shoulder the weight of a people. Damn, what was he thinking? Insatiable greed, perhaps?

Even so, if President Jonathan had done what he was supposed to do, he wouldn't be in the shape and corner he is right now – gasping for oxygen and for electoral survival. But look at him now, he is everywhere begging, begging and begging and in the process have become the nation's laughing stock. He was in Jerusalem. He was in Oyedepo's Winners' Chapel. He was in Adeboye's Redeemed Church. He was in Lazarus' Charismatic Church. He has also consorted with TB Joshua. He has been in so many Churches and other places of religious and spiritual significance many of us have lost count.

In his desperation, he is bowing and kneeling before everybody and everything! And then he shows up at the Ooni palace (in Ile Ife) looking subdued and as if in a trance. What is he looking for? Power? Power at all cost; power no matter what it takes? Some voices in the social media have begun linking him with the Ogboni society. This is sad, so very sad and pitiful!

In the last couple of years, we've seen many sickening and un-presidential pictures. What are we going to see next? Are we going to see pictures of initiations? A president pledging his kidney, pledging his liver, pledging his soul -- just so he could remain in office beyond 2015? There is a limit – there has to be a limit to what a man can and should do in search of power. Does he have loved one? He should be called to order.

One of the saddest and most unfortunate things about President Jonathan is that he doesn't hold anyone or institution responsible for willful transgressions. Clearly, he seems incapable of penalizing anybody. His aides, it seems, have come to realize this fact and so they commit offenses knowing they can and will get away with it.

Take the most recent embarrassing situation for instance: someone or a group of people at the foreign affairs ministry or so made him look small, very small before the Moroccans and the international community. Yet, the President has only promised to "look into it." Oh no! When you embarrass your president (at this level), heads must roll. At the very least, get the foreign affairs minister to cane and can the offenders. There should be accountability: people should be held accountable for their actions and inactions (especially when such egregiousness diminishes the prestige and reputation of the President and or his office).

If you have a basic understanding of politics, one of the things you never want to do is surround yourself with mediocre minds and mediocre intellects. But more than that, you never want to surround yourself with people who are (a) afraid to tell you the truth: (b) afraid to disagree with you; and (c) afraid to walk away if and when their advices are constantly discounted.

But on the other hand, we don't always give our best effort or best advice simply because we don't want to be jobless; don't want to give up the perks and trappings of the office; or because we came into office insincere about our intentions. In essence, we are there, not for the good of the collective or the nation, but for the good of ourselves. This Jonathan should have known.

A leader may be a danger unto himself if he cannot sift the grains from the sands; if he cannot tell the difference between praise-singers and honest critics. He does himself no good if he allows superficial noises to cloud his mind and his sense of self and understanding of people and ideas. This is a problem that's peculiar to many Africa rulers. In Jonathan, it is prominent.

And he rarely acts like a leader. When the presidential election (slated for February 14, 2015) was postponed, he didn't think it necessary to address the nation, to explain why the election had to be postponed. But instead, he kept shifting blame and responsibility to others even though he is the nation's chief executive officer. In essence, he failed to provide leadership. He was silent for a number of days – forgetting that he is the leader of our republic.

There is something comforting about showing leadership, direction, taking responsibility and allaying the people's fear and doubt. In times of moral, political, economic or social crisis, leaders step up to the podium. They take charge. They lead. This singular act engenders and promotes trust and confidence and respect. Jonathan didn't seem to know or understand this singularity. Or, maybe he just didn't care!

One of the many tragedies of the Goodluck Jonathan narrative is that too many of his friends and advisers are/were not sincere. They lied to him. They betrayed him. They used him.
And now, like a broke piece of tumbler, they are about to toss him away. He is being betrayed left, right and center. Another tragedy is this: the vast majority of those who drank from his cup and ate from his palm, shied away from defending him. They shied away from going to bat for him. And many of those who defend him do so because of inducements -- and not because of love, respect or loyalty.

History has shown that electoral outcomes can be unpredictable. Very unpredictable! Two weeks is a long time when it comes to elections. And that's long enough for Jonathan to close the gap and come up with a Hail Mary. But I doubt it. Experts at reading tea leaves tell me that the majority of voters will vote for Change – as opposed to Continuity. I am happy with that.

Sabella Abidde lives in Alabama and can be reached at: Sabidde@ yahoo.com
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I rejected Jonathan’s VP offer – Tinubu

With the March 28 presidential election in Nigeria fast approaching, and the fact that the Nigerian Military has almost cleared out the threats of Boko Haram from hindering the conduct of elections, the political face-off between the APC and the PDP was always going to continue.

With both parties trading blames in recent weeks and some avoiding the actions, the Chieftain of the APC was always going to be involved in one way or another.

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu joined the action last night after claiming that the incumbent president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, tried to woo him to become the number two citizen in a new Interim government.

Tinubu, as reported by The Punch, equally claimed that the "recent attacks on his person were because he rejected the offer by President Goodluck Jonathan to serve as the Vice President in an Interim National Government."

According to a statement from his media office on Thursday, Tinubu also alleged that Jonathan "was looking for ways to take him out either by killing him or getting him arrested based on trumped up charges."

"From what can be gathered through informed sources, the PDP and Jonathan Presidency had recently tried to fracture the APC by offering Tinubu the position of vice President in an interim government if he would agree to part company with the popular Buhari.

"Once Tinubu rebuffed the offer to participate in the interim scheme, the presidency decided to change tactics. It would no longer try to entice Tinubu with sugar but would now move to silence and if necessary neutralise him.

"The APC National leader has caused President Jonathan's team countless headaches this campaign season, his declining the interim government offer is just the latest."

The recent hate documentaries televised against him were all part of the desperate attempt by Jonathan to discredit him, the statement said.


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EFCC Docks Two for N58m Fraud, As Court Fixes May 26 For Trial

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, March 9, 2015, arraigned two persons in a Federal High Court for their involvement in a N58 Million fraud.

Justice B.M. Agishir of the Court sitting in Enugu State presided over the case pertaining to Adaobi Ofoma Chuke and Chief Jame Ofoma.

They were both arraigned on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining properties by false pretence to the tune of N58million.

One of the charges, according the Media and Publicity of the EFCC, read: "That you Adaobi A. Ofoma Chuke and Chief James Ofoma sometime in March, 2010 at Enugu within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court did conspire with each other to commit felony to wit: Obtaining Properties by False Pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act."

The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against them.

Following application for bail by the defence counsel, E.N. Onyibor, the first accused, Ofoma Chuke, was granted bail on self-recognition in the sum of N1million; the second accused person was granted bail in the sum of N500, 000 with one surety who must be a civil servant not below Grade Level 12 or a businessman.

The matter was adjourned to May 26, 2015 for trial.
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