Politics

PDP RAISES SERIOUS ALARM THAT APC IS RECRUITING FAKE INEC STAFFS.

Published

7 months ago

September 1, 2024

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Aziegbemi while addressing journalists in Benin City on Friday insisted that APC could not be trusted with the governance of the state following its failure to upload the required number of agents at the 3037 polling units in the state.

The Edo State Chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, has claimed that the All Progressive Congress, APC, has plans to rig the election by recruiting and employing fake INEC technical personnel to tamper with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

He said, “We wish to draw the attention of INEC and Edolites to the sinister plan of the APC which has been uncovered by our intelligence unit.

“APC has perfected a plan to use fake INEC staff posing as Technical Staff to temper with the BVAS machine on the day of election to beef up the number of accredited voters on the BVAS machine.”

He therefore demanded that INEC publish the names and pictures of all appointed RTECs for the election and their posting in good time.

“APC knowing that they cannot win the election has resorted to rigging plans which will terribly fail, by the grace of Almighty God,” Aziegbemi added.

Commenting on INEC’s requirement from all participating parties to upload the namedls and photographs of their polling agents, Aziegbemi disclosed that none of the 17 parties was able to meet the requirement 100 percent, PM News Reports.

He however disclosed that the APC could only upload 1,482 polling units in one local government area, instead of agents in the 3,037 polling units.

He therefore said that the APC should not be trusted with governance, if it could not perform such simple task.

“You will recall that INEC had issued a timetable and schedule of activities in Edo State for the governorship election. There are 13 items on that document. I draw your attention to item 9 “submission of names of political agents, to be uploaded on INEC portal.

“INEC created a portal for political parties to upload their agents and access codes were given to the political parties. INEC portal for uploading Polling Agents opened on the 17th of July and automatically shut down on the 30th of July at midnight.

“On the 29th of August, 2024, INEC invited the National Chairmen and National Secretaries for an emergency meeting in Abuja.

“To our amazement, the APC did not meet with the requirement in 3,037 polling units and in 17 local government [areas], which means APC has polling agents in only 1,482 polling units and 1 local government agent.

“PDP uploaded polling agents in 4,378 polling units. A party that cannot upload its polling unit agents in two-thirds of the polling units cannot be trusted with power in our State.

“We demand that no political party be allowed to correct this anomaly,” the PDP chairman said.

Reacting to the allegation, the APC Campaign Council Media Director, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said the PDP is coming up with these allegations to distract attention.

He said: “The PDP has just told the public what they are planning to do, but the bad news is that we are monitoring them bumper to bumper. There is no escape route for Governor Obaseki and his godson, Asue Ighodalo.

“We have told the world before now that Governor Obaseki brought hackers and cloners to Edo, with the aim of ensuring that the BIVAS are tampered with, while also cloning our candidate’s voice.

“Now, they saw that is not working, they now want to device another method. By Monday and Tuesday, they have perfected plans to stage protest across the state asking that their criminal elements should not be arrested.

“Those who were fingered in the killing of Inspector Onu Akor are running away from investigation. They are afraid of facing the consequences of their action, hiding in Edo state Government House for fear of arrest.

“We get details of their meeting everyday. We exposed the voice notes of their so-called Edo Security Network directive to their armed personnel, telling them to hide their guns.

“The game is up for them. Tell them to go and face their campaigns,” Afegbua added.

Politics

Kano deputy gov reports back after peace-building mission in Edo

Published

5 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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The Deputy Governor of Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, has reassured northerners living in Edo State about their safety, following the recent violence that led to the deaths of several Kano indigenes.

He made these remarks shortly after returning from a fact-finding and peace-building mission to Edo.

Ekwutosblog recalls that Gwarzo led a high-powered delegation to the South-South state. The delegation included the Emir of Rano, Ambassador Muhammad Isa Umar, four commissioners, the Chairman of Bunkure Local Government (the area most affected by the incident), and the representative of the Edo community in Kano.

Speaking to journalists in Kano, Gwarzo revealed that the visit followed an earlier condolence mission by Governor Monday Okpebholo to the Torankawa Community in Bunkure Local Government Area of Kano, where seven of the victims hailed from.

Gwarzo noted that the delegation visited the scene of the incident in Uromi, Edo State, where they were warmly received by both political and traditional leaders.

He described the reception as overwhelming, with a massive crowd, largely consisting of northerners, showing solidarity and appreciation.

“We met with the king of Uromi Kingdom and his senior chiefs. The Edo State governor personally accompanied us to the scene. It was a long journey nearly two hours from Benin but the turnout was incredible,” he said.

He commended the Edo State leadership for its proactive actions, including the disbandment of the vigilante group allegedly involved in the killings, the arrest of 14 suspects, and ongoing efforts by security agencies to apprehend those still at large.

“The Commissioner of Police in Edo State was transferred due to the incident, which shows the seriousness with which the state government is handling the situation,” the deputy governor stated.

He further disclosed that Kano had compiled a comprehensive report, documenting the victims and the extent of losses suffered, including properties destroyed.

He said the report has been formally submitted to Governor Okpebholo, who promised compensation for the victims and their families.

Gwarzo emphasized that justice remains the core demand from the Kano State Government and reiterated the constitutional right of every Nigerian to live and work peacefully in any part of the country.

“Nigeria belongs to all of us. The constitution guarantees every citizen the right to reside and earn a living anywhere in the country.”

“The governor of Edo has assured us that those responsible will be brought to book and that compensation will be provided. He made it clear that there is no animosity toward northerners in Edo. From what we witnessed, I can confidently say our people are very safe there,” he said.

He also confirmed that 26 individuals survived the attack, primarily from five local government areas in Kano.

Politics

Atiku, El-Rufai, Tambuwal visit Buhari in Kaduna

Published

6 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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Former Vice President and 2023 PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has visited former President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Kaduna.

The visit, which also included former governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Nasir El-Rufa’i (Kaduna), was captured in a video sighted on the Facebook page of Atiku Abubakar.

Although the specific purpose of the visit was not disclosed, Atiku described it as a “post-Sallah visit.”

In the post, Atiku wrote, “As the Waziri Adamawa, I was obligated to be in Adamawa during the Sallah celebrations. I held forth for the Lamido Fombina (Adamawa) in some of the activities of the Sallah celebrations. Today, I had the opportunity to pay a post-Sallah visit to His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2015-2023. It was a wonderful time with him. As usual, he cracked me up (to the extent that my ribs were hurting) with his peculiar humour. -AA”

The visit comes after governors from the All Progressives Congress (APC) paid a similar visit to Buhari in Kaduna last week, amid growing speculation about political realignments and possible coalitions ahead of the 2027 elections.

Politics

Rivers govt debunks civil service recruitment announcement

Published

6 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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Rivers State Government has refuted a widely circulated social media announcement alleging that the state’s Sole Administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, approved the recruitment of 10,000 “graduates and non-graduates” into the Rivers State civil service.

On Thursday, social media platform “Facebook”, was flooded with the purported government notice, which falsely claimed that the recruitment exercise had been sanctioned.

The statement was reported to have been signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibibia Lucky Worika.

However, in a statement issued by Mrs. Inyingi S. I. Brown, Acting Head of the Rivers State Civil Service, the government described the information as entirely untrue and urged the public to disregard it.

The statement also clarified that any official communication on civil service recruitment would come from the Rivers State Civil Service Commission at the appropriate time.

The statement read, “The Office of the Administrator of Rivers State wishes to disclaim a purported Special Government Announcement spreading round on social media and other platforms stating that His Excellency, The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas CFR, has approved the recruitment of 10,000 qualified graduates and non graduates into the Rivers State civil service and that the recruitment portal shall be opened for application midnight of Sunday 13/04/2025.

“The statement is claimed to have been signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibibia Lucky Worika.

“We wish to categorically inform the people of Rivers State and the general public that this is false and ask that this fake announcement be ignored.

“Appropriate information will be released by the Rivers State Civil Service Commission in due time.”