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My Men Will Arrest Any Unruly Governor During Election - Mbu

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<b>The new Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Joseph Mbu, has warned that his men will arrest any governor or politician with unruly attitude during the forthcoming elections.</b></div>
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Mbu said this on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during his official visit to the Ogun State police command headquarters, Eleweran.</div>
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He ordered the men of the command, who would be on electoral duty, to arrest promptly anyone caught with arms near the voting centres.</div>
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He said, “I am here to encourage, support and advice you because we have a critical part to play in the forthcoming elections.</div>
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“Our actions and activities will go a long way to decide on this election, so, I have come to tell you that we must remain impartial in ensuring free, fair, peaceful and violent-free polls.</div>
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“As far as the law is concerned, we are not going to respect anybody and whoever is coming to the booth should vote and leave peacefully.</div>
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“Anyone who comes there to campaign even if it is the chief executive of the state, a constable at that polling booth would stop him.”</div>
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Mbu, who debunked the notion that he was sent to the zone to do an hatchet job in the forthcoming elections, said he had been commissioner in Oyo, Ekiti and Rivers states as well as in the Federal Capital Territory. He said his current posting as the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, was not in any way different from his previous assignments.</div>
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He said, “I am here to make sure everywhere is calm; I am not here at Zone 2 only for elections. The Zone 2 must not just fail during the elections. I am here to make sure everything goes on peacefully, but the police will arrest anybody that commits any electoral offences.</div>
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“Anybody found with arms would be arrested by the police and anyone that cannot be arrested; we will recover the arms by force.</div>
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“No politician or any of their followers must shoot at any policeman; if you shoot at any policeman, my policemen would shoot back in self defence.</div>
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“Our duty is to make sure that the elections are conducted freely, fairly and peacefully and violence-free. There must be a code of conduct that you have to uphold to make sure that we actualise our goals.”</div>
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<b>Credit: <a href="http://www.punchng.com/news/my-menll-arrest-unruly-govs-during-election-mbu/">Punch</a></b></div>

My Men Will Arrest Any Unruly Governor During Election - Mbu

The new Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Joseph Mbu, has warned that his men will arrest any governor or politician with ...

Aliyu Orders Deputy Out Of Council Meeting Over Defection

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<b>Despite repeated promises by Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State to <a href="http://thenationonlineng.net/new/defection-wont-deny-deputy-right-aliyu/">accord his Deputy</a>, Hon. Ahmed Musa Ibeto, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), his rights and privileges, the Governor on Wednesday barred Ibeto from attending the state executive council meeting.</b></div>
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The governor had in his opening remarks at the weekly council meeting at the Government House, Minna, said he will not preside over the meeting with his deputy on seat, accusing Ibeto of calling him a thief in one of the APC campaign rallies in the state.</div>
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But a statement issued on Thursday by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Israel Ebije, said the Deputy Governor sought for permission to stay away from the meeting on moral ground.</div>
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Ebije said Ibeto told the council that unless on very sensitive state matters, it would not be morally right for him to be in council when political matters, especially ones that concerned the Peoples Democratic Party are being discussed.</div>
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Ibeto faulted the government statement, describing it as total falsehood which does not represent the true picture of what had transpired at the council, the <b>NATION</b> reports.</div>
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The deputy governor said he got wind of the grand plan to send him out of the weekly state executive council meeting, adding that the governor has decided not to have anything to do with him at the council again.</div>
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Ibeto said, "It is not true that I excused myself. When I received notification for the council meeting on Wednesday I went as usual. But before the council started, the governor in his opening remarks said that people and members of the executive council were aware that I have decamped from the PDP to APC and that we had gone on campaign round the state.</div>
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"He (governor) said he has the information and clips that I called him a thief and that he will not preside over the council where I am sitting.</div>
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"I objected and explained that I have never called him a thief and that everywhere we went, people always wanted to know why I defected to APC and I have been telling them I left PDP because of the injustice in the party."</div>

Aliyu Orders Deputy Out Of Council Meeting Over Defection

Despite repeated promises by Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State to accord his Deputy , Hon. Ahmed Musa Ibeto, who defected ...

Blame INEC Solely For Poll Shift - NSA

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKjrXLMRmJX137-HrjHjO8NYmQQ4uG8MEQQbKs1AjjMK8O64aPIzIiwNK0jCyCaaDzQ5N0oEWfZTiK-fXUvibFpPEsYX_SkAoV4ZljUPquSn_DboI9r-CJTJCcsTEb4u5X58iVwWTRYOz/s1600/Dasuki-Sambo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKjrXLMRmJX137-HrjHjO8NYmQQ4uG8MEQQbKs1AjjMK8O64aPIzIiwNK0jCyCaaDzQ5N0oEWfZTiK-fXUvibFpPEsYX_SkAoV4ZljUPquSn_DboI9r-CJTJCcsTEb4u5X58iVwWTRYOz/s1600/Dasuki-Sambo1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Facts have emerged that the postponement of the dates for the general elections was at the discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.</b></div>
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We gathered that the shift was occasioned by the electoral commission’s unpreparedness for the conduct of the polls.</div>
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Our correspondent also learnt that the Office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, had had intelligence information as at December 2014 about the glaring deficiencies in INEC’s preparation for the general elections, signaling that the commission was not ready for the polls at the scheduled dates of February 14 and 28.</div>
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The National Security Adviser, Col. Ibrahim Dasuki, said the discovery necessitated his suggestion for the shift in the dates, stressing that the shift as announced by INEC was its sole responsibility.</div>
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Ccontrary to what the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, told Nigerians that service chiefs said they could not guarantee security if the elections were to hold as scheduled, the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Alex Badeh, only advised INEC that the three troubled states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa should be exempted because security could not be guaranteed for the conduct of the elections.</div>
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The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, according to investigations, was “emphatic on the shift of election dates in the three troubled states of the North-East geo-political zone,” and not the entire country.</div>
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Also, a joint statement by the National Democratic Institute, NDI, and the International Republican Institute, IRI, on their preelection assessment mission to Nigeria on January 20 clearly showed that the electoral umpire was not fully ready for the polls to be conducted on the scheduled dates due to lapses noted in its preparation.</div>
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Even INEC, in its presentation to the National Council of State, NCS, indicated less than 100 per cent readiness to conduct the polls as scheduled.</div>
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Jega in his presentation said INEC had done all it needed to do to guarantee “successful conduct of the elections,” adding that “there are many other things that need to be done by other stakeholders, notably, security agencies, candidates, political parties, voters, etc, which are outside the control of INEC.”</div>
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But from his presentation, it was clear that some of the things needed to be done by INEC for the successful conduct of the polls were not actually in place.</div>
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One of these was the voters register which Jega said on February 5 that “the printing of the PDF hard copies of the register of voters to be used for the election in polling units and voting points has commenced in virtually all the states.”</div>
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However, Section 20 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) requires that INEC prepares and publish a register of voters 30 days before the date scheduled for election.</div>
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Also, the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, was also another problem. According to Jega, as at 2nd of February, 66,323,850 PVCs have been produced and delivered to states for distribution, representing 96 per cent, but only 45,098,876 were said to have been collected by voters, representing 65.81 per cent.</div>
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Of the over 21 million yet to be collected, Jega said INEC had extended collection till February 8.</div>
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He said: “There are a couple of questions to address: should INEC not conduct elections until every registered voter has collected his/her card? It is virtually impossible for every registered voter to collect his card.</div>
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“Second, what rate or percentage of collection is acceptable for election to take place? In this case, whatever percentage is agreed upon, it would imply that a date for the election could not be fixed until it is attained.”</div>
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Jega, therefore, sought the advice of the NCS on this.</div>
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He also said INEC assumed that since voter turnout in previous elections had never come close to 65 per cent, “PVC collection rate of this irreducible minimum percentage point would or should be acceptable for the conduct of the elections.”</div>
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On every need for the commission to conduct the election, Jega always almost concluded that “however, a lot more still need to be done by all stakeholders” which largely indicated that in actual sense, the commission was not fully ready to conduct the elections.</div>
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Jega in his submission to the NCS also said: “We also believe that it is necessary to take into context the things outside the control of the commission such as: attitude of politicians, political parties, candidates and voters and significantly, security for election personnel, materials and voters, especially in the areas of insurgency, which only the appropriate authorities can definitely speak on.</div>
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“No matter the extent of our readiness, if there are serious security concerns, the successful conduct of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections would be jeopardised.</div>
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“For example, we received a letter from the office of the NSA, informing us of recent developments in four of the North-East states, stating that safety and security could not be guaranteed during the proposed election period, adducing reasons why this is so and strongly advising that INEC considers the rescheduling of the elections by at least six weeks. This is a new development that INEC cannot certainly ignore or take lightly.”</div>
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Meanwhile, the NSA said that the military only advised that the polls be shifted in the troubled states only, the point which he described as in order.</div>
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NDI and IRI expressed concern “that millions of PVCs have not yet been distributed by INEC.</div>
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They also observed that the voter card readers, VCRs, which INEC branded as an innovation in Nigeria to strengthen the voting process, its “procurement, (as at January 15) is still underway and not all card readers have been delivered to INEC,” one month to the first scheduled election.</div>
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The DHQ, in recommending for the shift of polls in three states of the North-East, said only 13 local governments are under the control of the Boko Haram insurgents: 10 in Borno, two in Yobe and one in Adamawa which explains why it recommended the shift of polls in the three states, and not in the entire country.</div>
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Meanwhile, has given assurances that the new dates, March 28 and April 11, for the presidential and National Assembly and gubernatorial and state House of Assembly elections respectively will not fail.</div>
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He assured that the military and the combined regional forces from Chad, which is donating a 2,500-strong contingent, Cameroun and Nigeria, would clear the troubled zones in three weeks.</div>
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<b>Credit: National Mirror</b>

Blame INEC Solely For Poll Shift - NSA

Facts have emerged that the postponement of the dates for the general elections was at the discretion of the Independent National Elect...

Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki, Others Under Surveillance - APC

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<b>The All Progresives Congress (APC) has said the party’s leadership and members will not be intimidated by the latest antics of the Jonathan administration to harass and intimidate the opposition, especially in the run-up to next month’s general elections.</b></div>
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In a statement in Lagos, Thursday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the recent military siege on APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s residence and the Imo State Government House and the police harassment of APC’s Presidential Campaign Spokesman Garba Shehu fit perfectly into this emerging pattern.</div>
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"As the elections approach, we know the harassment and intimidation will be stepped up. We know our leaders, including the National Chairman Chief John Oyegun, National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi, former Gov. Timipre Sylva, Senator Bukola Saraki and National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, are under surveillance and their phones being hacked. </div>
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"We are aware that several of them, especially the National Publicity Secretary, have been marked down for arrest in the days to come. We know there are evil plots to frame some of them on trumped-up charges. We know our lives are in danger. But these and more will not deter us from continuing to act in the national interest or from seeking to effect change through the ballot box.</div>
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"Yes, we are alerting Nigerians that if anything happens to us they should know where it is coming from, but for us there is no going back because we are resolute", it said.</div>
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APC thanked Nigerians for their immense and unwavering support, especially since the postponement of the elections which was aimed at dampening the enthusiasm of the citizens, and urged them not to relent.</div>
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"We are glad that instead of weakening the resolve and enthusiasm of Nigerians, the Presidency-orchestrated postponement has further galvanized them to be more determined not only to vote but also to defend their votes.</div>
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"Nigerians must demand and insist that the elections be held as rescheduled, that there will be no interim government or tenure elongation. Nigerians have the power to forge change with their voter’s cards and no one must deny them that right", the party said.</div>
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APC called on President Jonathan to remember the verdict of history and put his dogs of war on a leash, realizing that history will judge no one but him even for the actions of his supporters, who are all acting in his name.</div>
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<b>Credit: <a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/tinubu-amaechi-saraki-others-surveillance-phones-hacked-apc/">Vanguard</a></b></div>

Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki, Others Under Surveillance - APC

The All Progresives Congress (APC) has said the party’s leadership and members will not be intimidated by the latest antics of the Jona...

Audio Clip: Soldiers Ready To Testify In Court - Fayemi

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<b>Former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has revealed that some military officers are ready to give evidence in court over the audio clip that caught senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and military chiefs plotting how to rig the June 21, 2014 governorship election in the state.</b></div>
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Speaking on a live programme, <b>APC Change Hour</b>, on an Akure, Ondo State-based ADABA 88.9 FM monitored in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, Fayemi said the postponement of the 2015 general elections was not about security but about a high-wired plot to rig the polls.</div>
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The audio clip was aired on the radio station with the alleged voices of Governor Ayo Fayose; former Minister of State (Defence), Musiliu Obanikoro; Police Affairs Minister, Jelili Adesiyan; Osun State Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Iyiola Omisore; and Gen. Aliyu Momoh haggling about rigging plans ahead of the poll.</div>
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He said the postponement was about a "desperate government and a desperate President that is afraid of a loss and using a military that became a willing tool."</div>
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The former governor said the PDP-led administration was trying to re-enact the rigging perpetrated in Ekiti with the alleged misuse of the military at the forthcoming general election.</div>
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Fayemi stressed that the upper echelon of the military was guilty of treason against the state with its role in the dramatic postponement of the polls, saying the first duty of the government through the armed forces is security of lives and property.</div>
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He deplored a situation in which the military institution has been desecrated with the army generals being harassed and intimidated by politicians desperate to rig elections for their party.</div>
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<b>Credit: <a href="http://thenationonlineng.net/new/audio-clip-soldiers-ready-testify-court-fayemi/">Nation</a></b></div>

Audio Clip: Soldiers Ready To Testify In Court - Fayemi

Former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has revealed that some military officers are ready to give evidence in court over the audio...

Security Operatives Storm APC Campaign Media Chief's House

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<b>A combined team of security operatives have surrounded the residence of the Director of Media of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organization,  Mallam Garba Shehu.</b></div>
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The operatives who were armed to the teeth, took positions around ‎the house located at Area 11, Garki Abuja, as early as 5:35am on Thursday morning.</div>
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One of Shehu’s colleagues  at the Atiku Media Office, who pleaded anonymity, called the <b><a href="http://www.punchng.com/news/security-operatives-surround-apc-campaign-spokesmans-residence/">PUNCH</a></b> at about 6am.</div>
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He said, “Security men have surrounded the residence of our director, Mallam Garba Shehu in Area 11. They came in several vehicles. I cannot make out which of the security services because it is still dark here.</div>
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“None of them has said anything about why they are laying siege at his house.”</div>
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It was gathered that the security operatives were miffed by the audacity of the APC campaign.</div>
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The APC campaign which Garba heads, organised a prime time interview for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd)  ‎on CNN.</div>
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It  was aired minutes after President Goodluck Jonathan held a media chat on national television.</div>
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Analysts say the CNN interview gave Buhari the advantage of responding to some of the allegations against him as well as some of the issues raised by Jonathan.</div>
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Some of the issues include  the shift in the 2015 elections, the Boko Haram insurgency and the anti-corruption fight.</div>
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Garba could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report.</div>

Security Operatives Storm APC Campaign Media Chief's House

A combined team of security operatives have surrounded the residence of the Director of Media of the All Progressives Congress Presiden...

Leaked Ekiti Tape: Falana Dares Obanikoro To Go To Court

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<b>Popular lawyer, Femi Falana, has attributed the shift in the dates of the general elections to the leaked tape alleging the rigging of the Ekiti State gubernatorial election last year.</b></div>
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Speaking at the Black History Month and Dr. Beko Ransom Kuti Memorial Program in Lagos, Wednesday, Mr. Falana said some of those implicated in the plot, who were threatening legal action, should think otherwise.</div>
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An audio recording revealing how some Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, chieftains connived with security agencies to rig the Ekiti State election was released by an army officer last week.</div>
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At the meeting, as evidenced by the recording, prominent officials of the PDP were heard discussing strategies for rigging the 2014 Ekiti governorship election, a poll in which the party eventually won by a landslide.</div>
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But some of the actors, including Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Defence Minister, and Ayo Fayose, who defeated the incumbent governor, denied being a party to the plot to rig the election and questioned the authenticity of the recording.</div>
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Mr. Obanikoro had also threatened a court action against news organizations who had published the conversations in the audio tape.</div>
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Despite their denials, the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, who also attended the meeting, confirmed Sunday that the tape was authentic. He however disagreed with the context of the discussion, saying the meeting was never about plans to rig the Ekiti State election.</div>
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Speaking Wednesday, Mr. Falana said that none of the participants in the recording had successfully challenged the army officer’s account of the incident.</div>
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“I understand that Mr. Obanikoro (whom he described as a ‘thug’) says he will go to court. I can assure you here, I dare him to go to court. He can’t. It’s not possible,” said Mr. Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.</div>
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“One of the reasons they postponed the election last week is that disturbing revelation by that Captain. That is what they wanted to do for the entire country. That revelation has sent them back to the drawing table. They now have to re-strategize.”</div>
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Mr. Falana criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for “embarrassing” the country with his repeated trips to the Holy Land, instead of channelling such funds to job creation.</div>
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Since he became the President in 2011, Mr. Jonathan has travelled for pilgrimage twice.</div>
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“I was reading the papers yesterday, the president said in violation of the peace accord, that governors in the north have not been sending Christians to Jerusalem. In other words, they have been sponsoring Muslims to Mecca,” said Mr. Falana.</div>
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“Please tell the president that there is no provision in our law for sponsoring anybody to Jerusalem or Mecca.</div>
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“Section 10 of the Constitution provides that the Nigerian State shall not proclaim any religion as an official religion. Therefore, appropriating billions of Naira every year, wasting money to send people to Jerusalem or Mecca is illegal.</div>
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“If you must know, less than seven per cent of Israelis are Christians, so they make jest of us. When you descend on them, that you are there to worship Jesus Christ, they’ll be like ‘are these people Ok?'”</div>
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Mr. Falana also insisted that the general election must hold and whoever emerges winner should be allowed to govern the country.</div>
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“And I’m challenging Edwin Clark and others, all those old men with expired ideas. Femi Okurounmu and others,” he said.</div>
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“We never saw them when we went to the streets of Lagos and Abuja to proclaim Goodluck as acting President. You were in the streets of Lagos, where were these characters? They were nowhere to be found.</div>
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“In fact, quote me. Baba Clark called me in one of our protests, ‘Femi, my son. Please keep it up. We from the Niger Delta cannot join this struggle now.’ I said why sir? He said ‘because he’s our son.’ I said what has your son got to do with the quest for justice?</div>
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“Professor Wole Soyinka, at the age of 71 (he was actually 76 then) led us in the protest. Please tell them this country belongs to all of us.”</div>
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On the issue of deployment of soldiers during election periods, Mr. Falana noted that nowhere in the Nigerian Constitution, Electoral Act, or the Armed Forces Act was a provision made for soldiers in election.</div>
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“So when they told Jega that they are going to be busy in the north east and they will not be able to secure the election. Please there is no provision for those Service Chiefs to police our election,” said Mr. Falana.</div>
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“Under Section 76, Section 116, Section 132, and 117, it is the exclusive responsibility of the INEC to fix dates for election. Only INEC. Not the president, not the NSA, not the security chiefs.</div>
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Knowing that, they then came in fraudulently by saying that they cannot guarantee your security.</div>
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“They have not been able to crush Boko Haram in six years, what magic are you going to perform in six weeks? Please we reject their fraudulent claim.”</div>
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Mr. Falana maintained that it is the duty of the police to maintain law and order in peace time.</div>
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“Soldiers have no business in town in peace time. Their duty is to defend the territorial integrity of our country, not to police election,” he said.</div>
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“That is the business of the Police. As a matter of fact, even Boys Scouts can police elections in Nigeria. You know why? On the day of election, there is restriction of movement. It is illegal for you to leave your ward for another ward. Only journalists, observers, and election workers can move round.</div>
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“So if everybody is restricted, why do you need soldiers to come and help you? To do what? But I will tell you why they need soldiers. You know why they need soldiers? To rig the election. To manipulate the process.”</div>
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<b>Source: Premium Times</b></div>

Leaked Ekiti Tape: Falana Dares Obanikoro To Go To Court

Popular lawyer, Femi Falana, has attributed the shift in the dates of the general elections to the leaked tape alleging the rigging of ...

It’s An Insult To Question Buhari’s Credentials - Obasanjo

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<b>Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday said it is insulting and ridiculous to question the academic credentials of APC presidential candidate, retired Gen. Muhammad Buhari.</b></div>
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Speaking at the launch of his book, My Watch, in London, Obasanjo said when he joined the army, it was mandatory that one must have WASC or GCE before enlisting in the armed forces.</div>
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He said the requirements were the same when Gen. Buhari joined the army in 1961, adding that even if Buhari did not have the required qualifications then, he had gone through the staff college which is equivalent to a first degree and the U.S. War College which is equivalent to a master’s degree.</div>
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“If anybody thinks that I’m illiterate or uneducated after attending many military institutions in the UK, India and the US, they should read my books”, he said, and urged those engaged in Buhari’s qualification debacle to “focus on real issues and stop degenerating into trivialities”.</div>
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Obasanjo, who answered questions from the audience on various socio-political issues affecting Nigeria, said he would assess the candidates in the election and “vote for one with the best record”.</div>
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The former president remarked that God would not have forgiven him if he had allowed vice-president Atiku Abubakar to succeed him, noting that with his experience, he knew what the job of running Nigeria entailed and who could do it well.</div>
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On whether he was overheating the Nigerian polity with his comments, Obasanjo said: “I am not heating anything. When things are going bad and you can’t say anything, you are an accomplice. If anybody can prove that what I am saying is wrong, I will apologise”.</div>
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On the Chibok girls, Obasanjo berated the federal government for taking long to acknowledge the incident, but not doing enough to bring back the girls, stressing that though the girls may never come together again, “we must not forget them”.</div>
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He said in spite of the problems bedeviling Nigeria, the country’s future is “rosy” and bright, emphasizing that the country faced similar problems in the past, including the civil war but came out stronger.</div>
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“God will see Nigeria through. Nigeria will emerge successfully and move up and forward”, he said.</div>
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The book launch which was attended by mainly Nigerians in Diaspora, was anchored by Richard Dowden of the Royal African Society, London, and Zeinab Badawi, a renowned television broadcaster.</div>
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<b>Source: Daily Trust</b>

It’s An Insult To Question Buhari’s Credentials - Obasanjo

Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday said it is insulting and ridiculous to question the academic credentials of APC pr...

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