• Party chairman, others injured
• Commissioner survives ambush
• Ex-LG boss, brother arrested
• Opposition goes to court in Oyo
• PDP clears FCT elections
CONTROVERSIES are still trailing local council elections to be held or that have just taken place across the country.
They include an Area Council election held at the weekend in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja as well as that coming up next month in Edo State and elsewhere.
Although adjudged peaceful, security agents on Saturday arrested 13 persons suspected to be disgruntled elements in the Abaji Area Council of the FCT.
It was not clear which political party they belonged to, but it was gathered yesterday that the suspects were in possession of dangerous weapons including charms.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) floored the opposition political groupings, clinching five of the six chairmanship seats and majority votes in the councillorship polls.
Preparations for the local government election in Kogi State slated for May 4 got underway at the weekend with the councillorship primaries of the ruling PDP held across the 21 councils. The primaries however turned violent in some councils as factions which disagreed on the modalities for the conduct of the elections clashed. It was a free for all in Yagba West Council as aggrieved members opted to settle scores with machetes and other dangerous weapons. No fewer than 20 persons were injured, with the party chairman, Mr. Ayo Alabi allegedly hospitalized as a result of a matchet cut. No fewer than 22 persons were said to have been arrested, including a former Liaison Officer 1 for Yagba West Council. His arrest alongside his elder brother was reportedly ordered by the Police Commissioner, Mr Frank Opara while 21 others were picked up.
In Odo-Eri, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Olufemi Bolarin, was said to have escaped unhurt, after he was ambushed by factional youths. It took several gunshots fired by his police orderly to gain passage. A former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mrs Justina Abanida, also ambushed, had the screen of her Hilux van smashed.
And ahead of the April 20, 2013 local government council election, Edo south chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) over the weekend kicked off its campaign for the election where the party said it was sure its candidates would win in the Bini speaking area of the state.
Besides, the Benin monarch, Omo N'obaErediauwa, urged candidates to go about their campaigns peacefully to sustain the prevailing peace in the state.
At the palace when the candidate for Oredo council, Osaro Obazee, visited him, the king who spoke through the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, while praying the ancestors for continuous peace, urged the candidates to base their campaigns on issues and eschew violence and mudslinging.
At the Oredo council rally, the deputy governor, Pius Odubu charged the people of the area to repeat the support they gave to his boss, Adams Oshiomhole, in the July 14, 2012 election.
In Okada, Ovia North East, the Senator representing Edo South senatorial district, Ehigie Uzamere, urged ACN members to vote massively for the party to replicate the developmental success of Governor Oshiomhole at the grassroots.
Also, a chieftain of the ACN in the area, Elder Sunny Uyigue, cautioned members to be vigilant, alleging plans by some aggrieved members to vote against the party in favour of the PDP, particularly in Ovia North East.
A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan will Monday begin hearing in a suit filed jointly by the PDP and Accord Party (AP), challenging Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi over council polls.
They have two representatives each, Hon, Alaba Adelabu and Adetomiwa Adetunji Olurotimi (PDP) as well as Pastor David Ayodele Eleko, and Oludele Asamu (AP). The plaintiffs, in the originating summons filed before Justice Abimbola Obaseki- Adejumo described the failure of the governor to conduct elections at the grassroots level as a " declaration of war or secession against the Federal Republic of Nigeria".
In the FCT polls, the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) retained one seat, leaving the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) with no seats in the chairmanship race.
The election results at a glance:
Abaji: ACN=8,101, ANPP=67, CPP=15, PDP=8,933, PPA=15, SDMP=6.
AMAC: AA=22, ACN=2,527, ANPP=1,208, APGA=183, CPC=7,055, CPP=85, LP=99, PDP=16,841, UPP=1,013 SDMP=14, PPA=60.
Bwari: AA=17, ACN=643, ANPP=1,086, CPC=8,051, CPP=92, LP=0, PDP=9,881, SDMP=19, PPA=33.
GWAGWALADA: AA=0, ACN=470, ANPP=11,596, CPC=2,284, CPP=0, LP=0, PDP=11,502, SDMP=80.
Kuje: ACN=58, ANPP=5,994, APGA=38, CPC=285, PDP=16,800, SDMP=7, PPA=37
Kwali: Musa Sikirath=37, Hon. Joseph Shazin=7,538, Emmanuel Bamigbaye=27, Zubairu Jibrin=1,472, Titus Shigaba. S= 37, Daniel Ibrahim (PDP)=12,809, Okechukwu Onaga=31.
Members of the election working group of the Nigerian Bar Association, FCT chapter, at the weekend expressed concern over the poor voters turnout.
Chairman of the of the group, Mr Dafe Akpedeye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who addressed reporters cited Rachel eye clinic by Gimbiya Street where a polling unit had 2419 registered voters but only 29 were accredited and voted.
"In Garki II, NNPC Main gate polling unit had 658 registered persons on the voter's list. As at 3pm no voter had turned up for accreditation even though the INEC officials, voting materials and security agents were present," he remarked.
Nevertheless, the group acknowledged that the election whereby a total of 914,358 voters were registered to vote in the six area councils of the FCT in all the 639 polling units in the FCT was generally peaceful, free and fair.
Although, officials of domestic polls observers under the umbrella of Independent Election Monitoring Group (IEMG) said that the exercise was free and fair, they appealed to all the political parties to engage the services of civil society organizations and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the training of their party agents following the lapses observed.
The IEMG officials stated that the training of all party agents and other personnel engaged in election matters by civil groups and INEC would give credibility to the handling of future elections in the country.
The National Coordinator of IEMG, Mr. Festus Okoye, in a report on the FCT polls said that during the election, "most party agents just hung around the polling units without a proper appreciation of electoral rules and regulations and are therefore unable to assist the party in mandate protection".
"Some of the presiding officers could not carry out proper set up of the polling units and this made it difficult for the voters to thump print their votes in an atmosphere of secrecy as guaranteed by the Electoral Act."
FCT Minister Bala Mohammed commended the electorate, FCT residents, INEC and all Nigerians over the peaceful conduct of the polls.
Reviewing the election on Sunday, the Minister who fielded questions from reporters in Abuja also hailed security agents as well as traditional and religious leaders.
The PDP has described the existence of opposition parties in Nigeria as unreal and a mere media show.
In an immediate reaction to its victory at the FCT elections, it said it remained "the pre-eminent party despite the much orchestrated merger by opposition parties."
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, in a statement, said the failure of the opposition in the FCT, which population is made up of Nigerians from all the geo-political zones, was a demonstration of the fate that would befall them in 2015.
In Ibadan, the judge gave today's date for hearing sequel to the summons filed by the plaintiffs' lawyer, Yomi Oguntola seeking the court to determine the following issues:
• "Whether having regard to the provisions of Section 1(2) of the 1999 constitution, the appointment of Caretaker Committees in place of democratically elected officers at the Local Government does not amount to "taking control" of the government at the grassroot level;
• "Whether having regard to the provisions of Sections 7(1), 6(a) and (b) of the 1999 constitution, the release of statutory allocation (intended for democratically elected local government councils) to Caretaker Committees is lawful and constitutional;
• "Whether having regard to the provisions of sections 7 (1), 196,197, and 198 of the constitution, and taking into account the provisions of the Oyo State Local Government Law, the governor, the Speaker and the entire Oyo State House of Assembly can constitute and appoint Caretaker Committees in place of democratically elected local government councils in the administration of the 33 local government areas in the state."
Joined in the suit with Ajimobi are the President Goodluck Jonathan, Minister of Finance, The Accountant General of the Federation, the Attorney General of the Federation, Oyo State House of Assembly and its Speaker, the government of Oyo State and the Attorney General of the State.
In a 23-paragraph affidavit in support of the originating summons and sworn to by one of the plaintiffs, Pastor Eleko, they alleged that since Ajimobi was sworn in on May 29, 2011, he had taken control of the government at the grassroots in a manner that is inconsistent with the provisions of Section 7(1 of the constitution).
Eleko averred further: "Beginning from August 2011, the governor and the State government, purportedly acting under the Local Government Laws of Oyo State and further aided by resolutions of the Speaker and the House of Assembly, have in gross violation of the provisions of the constitution, unlawfully taken control of the local governments administration by illegally constituting, appointing, and extending the tenure of Caretaker Committees in place of democratically elected as prescribed in the constitution;
"In November 2012, when all the political parties had, sequel to assurances made by the governor to conduct local government elections, made adequate preparations for the said elections but the governor reneged. Assisted by the resolution of the House of Assembly, he continued his illegal control of the government at the third tier by further extending for six months the tenure of the illegal caretaker committee;
"This illegal management of the local government has led to a situation where statutory allocation of funds from the federal government to these local government has been misappropriated while the people have been denied the right to participate in the choice of who leads them."
According to him, the people have lost faith in government and participatory democracy, having been rendered helpless, discouraged and left to grope in the dark for answers.
Justice Obaseki- Adejumo on February 8, 2013 ordered the plaintiffs to serve the defendants through substituted service while she also fixed March 18, 2013 for commencement of hearing.
The Guardian