2023 Elections

NaijaDecides2023: APC To Appeal Atiku’s Victory In Osun

Published

3 months ago

February 28, 2023

H B. Ray

The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has announced that it will challenge the outcome of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections in court.

Fidel Info reports that the party has alleged that voters were intimidated by the Peoples Democratic Party during the polls.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, won in Osun State with 354,366 votes to defeat Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who scored 343,945 votes.

PDP candidates were also elected in the three senatorial districts of the state, while the party also won all the nine House of Representatives seats.

While addressing journalists at the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Office in Osogbo on Monday, the Osun APC acting Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, alleged that hoodlums backed by the PDP disrupted polls in many places and attacked several members of the APC.

Iragbiji, Ikirun, Ila-Orangun, Ile-Ife, Ikire, Ilesa, Okuku, Inisa, Ede, Ipetumodu, Edun-Abon, Ifetedo and Gbongan were some of the key areas named by the acting chairman as places where the bulk of voter’s intimidation occurred.

He said, “The presidential and National Assembly elections of last Saturday were held under a siege with the PDP hoodlums having a field day across the state to the extent that it would be an impossible Utopia for any political party, which is playing by the rule, to win the elections against the political vampire called the PDP whose political thugs were ready to shed the blood of any strong-headed APC member or supporter.”

“Our bone of contention is that we are challenging the results of both the presidential and National Assembly elections held across Osun State last Saturday. But as ardent believers and doers of the rules of law in all our endeavours, we are enjoining our numerous members and supporters to refuse to be downcast with the unusual and strange turn of the political event which is a temporary issue and a mere passing phase in the political history of the state.”

“Our message to the beneficiaries in the declared phantom election results is that they should not rejoice as most of the PDP candidates will have cases to answer at the tribunal.”

The Director of Media of PDP, Oladele Olabamiji, reacting to the allegations, said the APC was free to challenge the results, but denied that the party or government intimidated the voters during the poll.

“I don’t know whether there is any credence to such a claim that thugs were moving around the state, even with the presence of security everywhere. It never happened anywhere. I wouldn’t know where such allegation is coming from. As far as I am concerned, they are just beating about the bush.”

“The election was held under a very peaceful atmosphere and the results declared reflected the collective will of the Osun people. They should not begin to make the mistake of making the court to appear as if it is a department in APC.”

“The court is for all Nigerians, regardless of class, status and political affiliation. Wherever they want to go, we will meet them there. Anybody condemning what happened on Saturday is just messing around,” Olabamiji said.

2023 Elections

NigeriaDecides2023: Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Hearing Begins

Published

1 month ago

May 8, 2023

H B. Ray

The Labour Party (LP) Presidential candidate and Former Governor Of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has arrived at the venue of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal as the hearing begins today.

Peter Obi is petitioning the March 1st declaration of the APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the Presidential Election and Nigeria’s President-elect.

The tribunal began with Justice Tsamani heading the panel hearing petitions challenging Tinubu’s election.

Other members of the panel are Justices Stephen Adah, who is the presiding Justice of the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal, Monsurat Bolaji Yusuf, Moses Ugo and Abba Mohammed.

The presiding Justice, Justice Tsamani, in his opening remarks said the Court is Presidential Election Petition Court and not Tribunal and warned against sensational statements for the safety of the country.

“We have five petitions before us, which we shall be alternating during the pre-hearing session. We should avoid unnecessary time- wasting applications as election matters are time-bound”, he said and promised that Justice will be done at the end of the day.

2023 Elections

Davido Speaks On 2023 Elections

Published

2 months ago

April 1, 2023

H B. Ray

Popular Nigerian singer, David Adeleke, whose stage name is Davido, has stated that the 2023 general elections were not credible.

Fidel Info reports that He said this during a recent interview with Beat 99.9FM, Lagos.

Davido further said he would have participated more in the elections if he was online. His absence was due to the recent death of his first son, Ifeanyi who died from a swimming pool accident.

He expressed his happiness about the low turnout of voters, stating that the safety of voters matters.

He said, “I’m happy that people were not really coming out. You know if I was online, I would have been really vocal about it [the election]. I have always been vocal about it. But, I mean, I was happy about it [the outcome of the election]. That’s just being honest.”

On the credibility of the election, he said,“It’s what it is! But I personally don’t feel like that was really a credible election. You know what I’m saying? I feel like the most important thing is the safety of life of everybody. But in all, that wasn’t it. So, I don’t think I will be able to hide that. I can’t hide that.”

There have been mixed reactions about the 2023 general elections and its credibility, due to electoral violence, alleged rigging and voter’s suppression.

2023 Elections

INEC Releases Date For Supplementary Elections Nationwide

Published

2 months ago

March 27, 2023

H B. Ray

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed April 15 for the conduct of supplementary governorship elections in Kebbi and Adamawa states.

Fidel Info reports that The commission made the disclosure in a short statement via Twitter on Monday.

It said supplementary polls for national and state assembly seats in other states will also take place on April 15.

“Arising from its meeting held today, the Independent National Electoral Commission has decided that all outstanding Governorship, National and State Assembly supplementary elections will take place on Saturday 15th April 2023,” the statement reads.

INEC had declared the governorship elections of March 18 in Kebbi and Adamawa states as inconclusive last week.

Polls in states such as Oyo, Sokoto, amongst others, were also declared inconclusive.

In Adamawa, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP scored the highest votes, but INEC said the cancelled votes were more than the margin of victory between Fintiri and the runner-up, Aisha Dahiru of the APC.

At the end of the official tally of results, Fintiri defeated Dahiru, popularly called Binani, with a margin of over 30,000 votes.

The incumbent governor scored 421,524 votes, while Dahiru won 390,275 votes.

Fintiri also won the election in 13 of Adamawa’s 21 local government areas while Binani won in the remaining eight.

In Kebbi, Nasir Idris of the APC and Aminu Bande of the PDP are the leading candidates.

INEC’s Returning Officer, Professor Yusuf Sa’idu, declared the race inconclusive because there were breaches of electoral laws that led to cancellations of results in polling units within 20 of the 21 LGAs in the state.

Before declaring the election inconclusive, APC was leading the polls with 388,258 votes, as against 342,980 votes polled by the PDP. The margin between both parties is 45,278.