2m Voters Registered Voters Set For Kogi Guber Election –INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said two million registered voters are expected to vote in the Saturday off-cycle governorship election in Kogi. The election will hold in 3,508 poling units, spread across the 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state. The LGAs included Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ankpa, Bassa, Dekina, Ibaji, Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ijumu, Kabba-Bunu, Kogi, Lokoja, Mopamuro, Ofu, Ogori-Magongo, Okene, Okehi, Olamaboro, Omala, Yagba-East, and Yagba-West. Speaking on preparations for the election, Dr Gabriel Longpet, the state Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), said that the commission was 100 per cent ready. Longpet said that the commission had recruited over 15,000 ad hoc staff to help it in the smooth conduct of the poll. “We have 3,508 polling units and each of these units will be manned by four ad hoc staff aside the security personnel that will be around to ensure peaceful conduct of the election. “We shall deploy more staff and BVAS in densely populated polling units to complement those we are going to use. “To be precise, we are going to use more than 900 back-up BVAS. “This is because some polling units have more than 1,000 to 2,000 registered voters, and we have to split the number by creating more voting points for easy voting. “This becomes imperative as we don’t want to give room for anything that will delay the process. “As soon as there is a report of any BVAS failure or challenge, we shall provide another one and configure it to that polling unit for smooth continuation of voting,” he said. Longpet said that the BVAS had been deployed to the 21 local government areas of the state in readiness for the election. Also speaking, the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Bethrand Onuoha, said over 40,000 policemen would be deployed across the state to ensure peaceful conduct of the election. Onuoha said that the planned deployment of large number of personnel was due the past experiences in the state, where violence was recorded during elections. “As it is, we have marked out some security flash points for more vigilance even though recent happenings signaled to us that the whole Kogi is a flashpoints. “From the number of security personnel we are deploying for this election, it’s an enough testimony to tell you that the state needs more security checks. “With the presence of adequate security personnel in Kogi, we are calling on every body to come out and exercise his or her civic right in the Saturday governorship election. “We are going to swam the state with enough security personnel and by the special grace of God, with our actions and sanctions, we are going to confound our detractors,” he said. Onuoha added: “God is telling me that this election is going to be better than all the elections ever held here in Kogi. “We have directed our personnel to be fair to everybody because we come here to serve the people and not any particular individual.” The CP urged politicians to play according to the rules of the game, saying that election would come and go, while the people would remain. “We expect that they should adopt politics without bitterness. Your brother is your brother, no matter where he belongs politically, ” he said. Onuoha warned trouble makers especially political thugs, not to try any thing funny as regard the election as security operatives are battle ready to deal with them. “In election, you don’t use matches and guns to force people to give you votes. Such people will meet the wrath of the law. “What we want in Kogi is a peaceful and successful election. Therefore, politicians must play according to the rules of the game or be dealt with. “The traditional rulers should help us talk to their subjects to maintain peace throughout the election period because it will come and go and we will all remain as residents,” said the police chief. Eighteen political parties featuring in the election on Wednesday signed a peace accord, ahead of the poll.Some of the parties were the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Labour Party (LP) and the Action Alliance (AA). Others are the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), the Action Democratic Congress (ADC), the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), the National Rescue Movement and the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

APC Suspends Kogi Guber Campaign

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended its campaign for the November 11 Kogi Governorship Election temporarily, as a mark of respect for Ms Khadijat Yahaya, a member of the party who died after an attack by suspected thugs. Mr Kingsley Fanwo, the spokesperson for the state Campaign Council, said stated this in a statement in Lokoja. Khadijat allegedly lost her life after a clash between supporters of Social Democratic Party (SDP) and those of the APC in Kotonkarfe on September 29. Meanwhile, the state APC governorship candidate, Alhaji Usman Ododo, visited the family of the deceased in Kotonkarfe on Tuesday to sympathise with them over her demise.Ododo expressed shock at her demise and prayed to God for the repose of her soul.Responding, Malam Saliu Akawu, thanked Ododo for the visit. Akawu said the conduct of Ododo showed that he was a compassionate leader who would always identify with his people. He said that Khadijat was a very peace-loving person whose life was cut short by evil men. Ododo also visited the Palace of the Ohimege of Kotonkarfe, Alhaji Abdulrazak Koto, where he expressed sadness over the death of Khadijat. He described her as a woman of peace who was desirous of seeing development in Kotonkarfe and promised to ensure justice for the deceased family. 

Kogi APC Guber Pry: Smart Adeyemi Knows Fate Oct 3 

The Supreme Court on Thursday in Abuja fixed October 3 for final judgement in a suit filed by Senator Smart Afolabi Adeyemi challenging the conduct of the April 14, 2023 primary election of the All Progressives congress (APC), for Kogi state governorship election.  Adeyemi is challenging the validity of the primary election which produced Ahmed Usman Ododo as APC’s flagbearer for the November 11 governorship election. The grouse of the appellant is that the provisions of Electoral Act 2022 and the guidelines of the APC were compromised during the primary election. Specifically, Adeyemi who recently represented Kogi West senatorial district in the Senate is claiming that the result brought out by APC in support of Ododo was fraudulent and invalid on the ground that the primary election was conducted in only 11 out of 239 wards in the state. A Federal high court in Abuja and the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal had however delivered judgments against him on the ground that the allegations of malpractices were not proved as required by law, promoting him to go to Supreme Court. At Thursday’s hearing of the Appeal at the Supreme Court, Adeyemi lawyer’s Musibawu Adedtunmbi, SAN, after adopting his briefs prayed the Apex Court to grant the reliefs sought by Adeyemi. The Senior lawyer argued that the primary election of April 14 was conducted in gross violation of section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022. The senior lawyer claimed that Election did not hold in 228 wards and that the claim was supported by INEC’s field officers in their report on the primary election. However, the APC represented by AbdulWahab Mohammed prayed the Supreme Court panel headed by Justice John Inyang Okoro to dismiss Adeyemi’s appeal on the ground that it is against the concurrent findings of fact by the Court of Appel and the Supreme Court. On its part the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) represented by Adeyemi Adeniyi SAN, after adopting his briefs told that Apex Court panel that the appeal was grossly incompetent and that the decision of the two lower courts should be affirmed because there was no allegation of perversion of justice in the decisions of the two lower courts.  Similarly, the third respondent, Usman Ahmed Ododo through his counsel, Francis Ekpa asked the Supreme court to dismiss the appeal on the ground that it has become academic, adding that the 180 days within which APC can conduct another primary election for nomination of candidate has since lapsed. Justice Okoro after taking arguments from the parties announced that the final judgment will be delivered on October 3.