{"id":5351,"date":"2019-02-17T23:12:09","date_gmt":"2019-02-17T23:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/ng\/?p=5351"},"modified":"2019-02-17T23:12:09","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T23:12:09","slug":"new-development-on-nigerias-presidential-election-foreign-observer-foils-inec-rigging-plans-in-10-states-on-botched-election-day-february-16-how-violence-lawlessness-were-prevented-in-26-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/new-development-on-nigerias-presidential-election-foreign-observer-foils-inec-rigging-plans-in-10-states-on-botched-election-day-february-16-how-violence-lawlessness-were-prevented-in-26-states\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW DEVELOPMENT ON NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Foreign Observer foils INEC Rigging plans in 10 states on botched election day February 16…How violence, lawlessness were prevented in 26 states *Why National Electoral Umpire postponed election, set new dates for February 23, March 9 * ‘We have No Confidence or Trust in INEC to manage any credible election’-Afenifere *’INEC plan was to manipulate the smart card readers to substance biometric, accreditation with manual verification of already pre-loaded names, thus paving way for mass rigging and allocation of fictitious votes for President Buhari and APC Candidates during the elections’-Nigeria main opposition party, PDP * \u201cI am deeply disappointed that despite the long notice given and our preparations both locally and internationally, INEC postponed the Presidential and National Assembly elections within hours of its commencement\u201d-President BUHARI * \u201cThe commission could not afford to be distracted by baseless allegations. The Commission was not a political party and would not allow itself to be dragged into unnecessary controversies at a time like this\u201d-Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman * ‘The upcoming elections are an opportunity for Nigeria to solidify its place as a democratic leader in Africa’-United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo BY NIKKY IYABODE\/DIPLOMATIC REPORTER, CHESTA ILAM, POLITICAL WRITER, RILWANU AHMED, REPORTER, ABUJA & AJANI AIYEOLA\/INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR, ABUJA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEW\nDEVELOPMENT ON NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign\nObserver foils INEC Rigging plans in 10 states on botched election\nday February 16<\/strong>…How\nviolence, lawlessness were prevented in 26 states<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Why National\nElectoral Umpire postponed election, set new dates for February 23,\nMarch 9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*\n‘We have No Confidence or Trust in INEC to manage any credible\nelection’-Afenifere<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*’INEC\nplan was to manipulate the smart card readers to substance biometric,\naccreditation with manual verification of already pre-loaded names,\nthus paving way for mass rigging and allocation of fictitious votes\nfor President Buhari and APC Candidates during the elections’-Nigeria\nmain opposition party, PDP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*\n\u201cI\nam deeply disappointed that despite the long notice given and our\npreparations both locally and internationally, INEC postponed the\nPresidential and National Assembly elections within hours of its\ncommencement\u201d-President BUHARI <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*\n\u201cThe commission could not afford to be distracted by baseless\nallegations. The Commission was not a political party and would not\nallow itself to be dragged into unnecessary controversies at a time\nlike this\u201d-Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*\n‘The upcoming elections are an opportunity for Nigeria to solidify\nits place as a democratic leader in Africa’-United States Secretary\nof State, Mike Pompeo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY NIKKY IYABODE\/DIPLOMATIC REPORTER, CHESTA ILAM,\nPOLITICAL WRITER, RILWANU AHMED, REPORTER, ABUJA & AJANI\nAIYEOLA\/INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR, ABUJA <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GOING BY THE LATEST CLASSIFIED INFORMATION STUMBLED UPON BY OUR\nREPORTERS, IT WAS CLEAR THAT CRISES AND CONFUSION WERE AVERTED IN\nAFRICA’S MOST POPULOUS BLACK NATION IN THE WORLD IN THE BOTCHED\nPRESIDENTIAL ELECTION EARLIER SLATED FOR SATURDAY FEBRUARY 16TH, 2019\nIN NIGERIA, NOW RESCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23,\n2019. <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all blames\nlaid on the feet of Independent\nNational electoral Commission, INEC, some officers in the zonal\noffices of Electoral Umpire had allegedly hatched secret plans to\nsuccessfully bring in logistic materials and voting items in 26\nstates under the cover of darkness 72 hours to the earlier scheduled\ndate of the presidential election. Their Plan B was to have voting\nmaterials delayed in 10 other states of the federation, thereby\ncausing anxiety, apprehension, violence among the agitated masses. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nplans were agreed upon by these INEC Zonal officers working\nhand-in-hand with party agents of \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All\nProgressives Congress (APC) since they were under serious political\npressure to ensure that Nigeria incumbent president, Muhammadu\nBuhari was re-elected. It was discovered that some of these INEC\nstaff involved in this scheme ensured that while making late night\nphone calls on Nigeria’s Global System Network provider to finalize\ntheir plans they speak in ‘coded-words’ to avoid detection. The INEC\nstaff were allegedly assured that if they successfully carried-out\nthe rigging and APC maintains leadership again in governance, their\njobs were secured and they would be adequately rewarded with\npromotions. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthese reasons, INEC directed it field officers and technicians to\nensure all voting materials were duly in place in 26 states of the\nfederation as at 12midnight on Saturday February 16, while secretly\nmandated to delay the distribution of voting materials to the\nremaining 10 states seen as the strong areas where the main\nopposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would have had\nhighest voting scores from the electorates. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea was to deliberately allow materials arrive late in 10\nstates to monitor the progress of results in the earlier 26 states as\nthe people were already witnessing in some states, and INEC would\nhave no option but to postpone elections in the country due to the\nlate arrival of ballot boxes in those 10 states. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naija Standard<\/strong><\/em> observed\nthat a day earlier, INEC aircraft\nthat was supposed to deliver materials to Enugu state (one of the 10\nstates) was told it can’t land because of bad weather conditions and\nit had to land in Port-Harcourt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the avoidance of doubt, while\nelection would have held in 26\nstates, the plan was to watch out for the outcome. If it favours\nAtiku Abubakar, the presidential flagbearer of PDP in whatever\nmargin, INEC machinery would have deployed heavy security agents to\nensure they get enough votes to cover up the margin in the 10 states\nthat elections were to be postponed. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional plans was to play\nup the sensation news of Kaduna State killings where 66 people died\nsome days ago as been part of the plan to create an atmosphere of\ncatastrophic so that INEC would postpone the election, having\ncoincided with few offices of INEC already burnt down across the\ncountry. The late arrival of election materials and security crisis\nin the 10 states would have given an automatic victory to APC in all\nlevels. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one of the Foreign\nelection observers (names withheld) who understands Nigeria’s Hausa\nlanguage while on inspection of voting materials in the 26 states \noverhead two INEC staff discussing in hush tones their final plans to\nallegedly manipulate the election as explained above purposely for\ntheir concluded agenda, even without considering the lawlessness that\nmay cause to the polity and national security. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foreign election observer\nalerted a top high-ranking INEC official in the electoral umpire’s\nheadquarters in Abuja, where she narrated all she heard, immediately\norders were placed to the zonal officers in those 10 states to\n‘neutralize their plans’, as the information had already leaked.\nThese actions led INEC to summon emergency meeting after which the\nelections were postponed to February 23 and March 9 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INEC reacts\nto PDP allegation of rigging:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

INEC\nhas reacted to the allegations made by PDP against the electoral body\nof plans to rig the 2019 election. The\nPDP in a statement on Monday insisted that the leadership of the INEC\nwas under pressure to rig the 2019 general elections for President\nMuhammadu Buhari and the APC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kola\nOlogbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary claimed that INEC\nchairman, Yakubu Mahmood has been penciled down for the \u201cOnnoghen\ntreatment\u201d. He\nsaid: \u201cThe INEC has been conducting general elections since the\npast 20 years. During\nthis time, especially since 2010 and particularly from 2015, the\ncommission hasintroduced\nmany innovations to improve the electoral system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne\nof such innovations is to ensure that no member of any political\nparty is engaged to participate in the conduct of elections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kola\ninsisted that INEC has allegedly been taking directives from Buhari\nPresidency and the APC on how to manipulate our electoral process at\nvarious levels. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reacting\nto the allegations, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr\nRotimi Oyekanmi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the\ncommission could not afford to be distracted by baseless allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oyekanmi\nsaid that the Commission was not a political party and would not\nallow itself to be dragged into unnecessary controversies at a time\nlike this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI,\ntherefore, call on any political party or individuals with\ninformation on how the Commission plans to or has engaged members of\nany political party as ad-hoc staff for the upcoming general\nelections to make such information public and mention specific names.\nIt\nis not enough to make wild allegations. It is incumbent upon those\nwho make such allegations to also provide the proof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nHe assured\nthat INEC would conduct free, fair and credible general elections,\nand for which it needed the support of all Nigerians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nPDP in Delta State, on Wednesday, claimed that it had uncovered an\nalleged deceitful plot by INEC to manipulate and rig the forthcoming\nelections for President Muhammadu Buhari and APC through several\ndevious strategies. The State Publicity Secretary of the Party,\nIfeanyi Osuoza, in a statement signed alleged that the gambit of the\nelectoral body was to stage manage the pre-loading and key in the\ncard readers with pre-determined fictitious voters\u2019 details before\naccreditation. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAccording\nto him, \u201cOur thorough investigations revealed that the first ploy\nin the uncovered series stratagems to tinker with the February 16,\nand March 2, elections is a deceptive tactics designed to make\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari and APC candidates gain the upper hand\nthrough underhand manipulation of pre-determined names of fictitious\nvoters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cThe\nimport of the plot is to manipulate the smart card readers so as to\nsubstance biometric, accreditation with manual verification of\nalready pre loaded names, thus paving way for mass rigging and\nallocation of fictitious votes for President Buhari and APC\nCandidates during the elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nstatement further alleged that in addition to the brazen plot, it was\ngathered that the ultimate plan of the supposed electoral umpire was\nto allegedly swap the original result sheets at the collation\ncenters, all parts of the grand desperation to manipulate the process\nand short change the will of the People. The statement further\nalleged that in addition to the brazen plot, it was gathered that the\nultimate plan of the supposed electoral umpire was to allegedly swap\nthe original result sheets at the collation centers, all parts of the\ngrand desperation to manipulate the process and short change the will\nof the People.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nPRESIDENT\nBUHARI’S REACTION:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn\na statement personally signed by President Buhari on INEC\npostponement of the election, it reads: \u201cI am deeply disappointed\nthat despite the long notice given and our preparations both locally\nand internationally, the Independent National Electoral Commission\n(INEC) postponed the Presidential and National Assembly elections\nwithin hours of its commencement. Many Nigerians have traveled to\nvarious locations to exercise their right to vote, and international\nobservers are gathered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cINEC\nthemselves have given assurances, day after day and almost hour after\nhour that they are in complete readiness for the elections. We and\nall our citizens believed them. This administration has ensured that\nwe do not interfere in any way with the work of INEC except to ensure\nthat all funds were released to the commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cWe\nnow urge INEC to ensure not only that materials already distributed\nare safe and do not get into wrong hands, but that everything is done\nto avoid the lapses that resulted in this unfortunate postponement,\nand ensure a free and fair election on the rescheduled dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cWhile\nI reaffirm my strong commitment to the independence, neutrality of\nthe electoral umpire and the sanctity of the electoral process and\nballot, I urge all political stakeholders and Nigerians to continue\nto rally round INEC at this trying national moment in our democratic\njourney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \u201cI,\ntherefore, appeal to all Nigerians to refrain from all civil disorder\nand remain peaceful, patriotic and united to ensure that no force or\nconspiracy derail our democratic development. I have decided to move\nback to Abuja to ensure that the 14.00 hrs meeting called by INEC\nwith all stakeholders is successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAFENIFERE\nREACTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\npan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has expressed\ndissatisfaction with INEC level of preparedness to conduct a free,\nfair and credible elections in the country. A leader of the group,\nAyo Adebanjo, stated this while speaking with journalists. Adebanjo\nwho called for an outright change in the leadership of INEC, stressed\nthat it was impossible for the head of an electoral umpire appointed\nby one of the presidential candidates to be impartial in the conduct\nof the 2019 general elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAccording\nto him, \u201cWe have said it before that we don\u2019t have any trust in\nINEC as it is presently constituted. In fact, we are of the view that\nthe whole team should be disbanded. For us to have a free and fair\nelection, there should be no relation of a contestant in the\npresidential election in INEC\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nA\nstatement by the Special Adviser to the Bayelsa Governor on Media\nRelations, Fidelis Soriwei, said the Afenifere chieftain also\nrestated the group\u2019s commitment to the ongoing struggle for the\nrestructuring of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAdebanjo\ncalled on Nigerians to vote for the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in\nthe forthcoming presidential elections for the country to remain\nunited in peace and make progress. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAMERICA’S\nStatement on the Postponement of the Nigerian Elections:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nU.S. Embassy fully supports the joint statement by the heads of the\nECOWAS and other international election observation missions on the\npostponement of the February 16 Nigerian elections.
We join in\nencouraging all Nigerians to ensure a free, fair, peaceful, and\ncredible election by supporting the Independent National Electoral\nCommission while it finalizes electoral preparations this week and by\nvoting in peace together on February 23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nUnited\nStates Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said: \u201cThe upcoming\nelections are an opportunity for Nigeria to solidify its place as a\ndemocratic leader in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW DEVELOPMENT ON NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Foreign Observer foils INEC Rigging plans in 10 states on botched election day February 16…How violence, lawlessness were prevented in 26 states *Why National Electoral Umpire postponed election, set new dates for February 23, March 9 * ‘We have No Confidence or Trust in INEC to manage any credible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}