The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified crisis-prone areas that security agencies must place on red alert ahead of the 2019 general elections.
CEOAfrica gathered that the flashpoints were identified in the six geo-political zones by a committee set up by INEC’s Electoral Institute.
It was learnt that the committee, which was set up and deployed to the six geo-political zones of the country, carried out a research on flashpoints that are likely to affect the smooth conduct and movement of election materials.
The committee was also mandated to conduct a research on the perception of the commission. A source told CEOAfrica that the reports on the flashpoints have been made available to the security agencies.
The press secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, could not confirm whether the committee has submitted the report or not.
Oyekanmi said the commission recorded a milestone in 2018 by getting vehicle tracking devices that monitor the movements of vehicles conveying sensitive materials from the distribution points.
He said materials would be picked from the Central Bank of Nigeria to the various local government areas for the elections.
“Stakeholders applauded this innovation during the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections,” Oyekanmi said, adding that the innovation will assist greatly in the 2019 general elections.
He continued: “I guess we have done all that we need to do to ensure that we have very successful general elections in February 2019. We need to love one another. We have no other country except Nigeria and we should not allow anybody to divide us using religious or ethnic sentiments.
“We all need to participate in the forthcoming general elections. Those who are yet to collect their Permanent Voter’s Card should endeavour to do so. Don’t sell your vote. Cast your vote for the political party and candidate of your choice according to your conscience”.
AVM Mu’azu, Amina Zakari Head 30-Man Logistics, Collation C’ttees
Meanwhile, a retired two star military officer from the Nigerian Airforce, Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Tijjani Mu’azu, who is also a national commissioner at INEC has been appointed to head an 18-man committee on electoral logistics.
The committee comprises all the military, Para-military, other government agencies and civilians from INEC.
Also, INEC yesterday inaugurated a 12-man internal committee on collation centre headed by a national commissioner, Mrs Amina Zakari. In all, the total number of committee members inaugurated by INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu to determine the success of the 2019 general elections is now 30. Also worried by the continued strike action embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the INEC chairman announced yesterday that the commission will meet with the union today Friday. According to Yakubu, INEC will also be meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) next week to discuss issues bordering on the smooth conduct of the 2019 general elections.
Members of the committee on electoral logistics chaired AVM Mu’azu (rtd), include national commissioner, Engr Abubakar Nahuche; national commissioner, Mallam Mohammed Haruna; Central Bank of Nigeria; Customs Service – member; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria – member; Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC); Nigeria Immigration Service; the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Services. Others are Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force; Director, Electoral Operations Department, INEC, Director, Estate Works & Transport, INEC, Director, Procurement INEC and director, Stores, who is serving as secretary of the committee.
Members of the committee on collation centre headed by Mrs Amina Bala Zakari are national commissioner, Prof Anthonia T Okoosi-Simbine; national commissioner, Barr Festus Okoye; Chief Technical Adviser to INEC chairman, Prof. Bolade Eyinla; Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Rotimi L. Oyekanmi, director, ICP Department, INEC; Director, ICT Department, INEC; director, Electoral Monitoring Department, INEC; director, Security Department, INEC; director, P&M department, INEC; Director, Health Services Department, INEC and director, Commission Secretariat, INEC, who is serving as Secretary.
Speaking while inaugurating the two adhoc committees on electoral logistics and the national collation centre, INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said it was another step in the commission’s determination to ensure seamless preparations for the 2019 General Elections. He said, “As we move closer to the elections, the commission has decided to set up two adhoc committees to drive important components of the electoral process.
“The first committee is responsible for electoral logistics. The commission is aware that the conduct of a general election is the biggest and most complex logistics operation a nation can undertake.
“Sensitive and non-sensitive materials procured by the commission must be delivered to almost 200,000 locations nationwide, ranging from the polling units to the various ward, local government, state and the national collation centres for the 1,558 constituencies into which elections will be conducted”
“At the end of the elections, sensitive materials will be retrieved from the same locations. The same process will be repeated for each of the two phases of the 2019 general elections, namely the presidential and national assembly elections holding on 16th February and the governorship, state assembly and area council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on 2nd March”.
For the 2019 general elections, Yakubu said the electoral logistics committee will be responsible for coordinating logistics support as well as clearance and transportation of election materials to various locations nationwide. Yakubu said the committee includes relevant security agencies whose roles are clearly defined in Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
PDP Kicks over Zakari’s Appointment
But the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called for the immediate removal of a national commissioner, Amina Zakari, from the National Collation Center Committee (NCCC) of INEC.
PDP said the inclusion of Zakari, who it called a blood relation of President Muhammadu Buhari, as chairman of the collation committee indicated that votes cast by Nigerians will not count during the polls. Director, media and publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Kola Ologbondiyan, who accused Zakari of being the link between the presidency and INEC, derided the role she played during last year’s Osun State governorship election.
He further stressed that while PDP remains committed to a peaceful and credible process, it “will never, in any way, allow anybody to use any means, under any guise whatsoever”, to rig the opposition party out in this election.”
The party alerted the National Peace Committee, United Nations and other global democratic institutions to note that with her appointment as head the collation of presidential results, the stage is being set for a political crisis, which is capable of derailing the country’s democratic process.
PDP added: “Today, we have been informed that the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, apparently in furtherance of the plots to rig the Presidential election, has appointed Mrs. Amina Zakari, a blood relation (niece) of the APC candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, as the Chairperson of INEC Advisory Committee and Presidential election Collation Center Committee.
“The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) outrightly, vehemently and unequivocally rejects, in its entirety, the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari, President Buhari’s blood relation, as the head of the collation of results, in the same election in which his uncle, President Buhari, as a candidate, has displayed a huge desperation to win.
“The appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari, who had been openly accused in various quarters as being the link person between INEC and the Buhari Presidency in their schemes to rig the election for President Buhari, constitutes a direct violence against the presidential election and the PDP will not, in any way whatsoever, accept it”.
“This is the same Amina Zakari, who headed the ICT Department of INEC at the time that department was accused of manipulating the INEC voter register to accommodate fictitious, underage and alien voters, particularly, in remote areas where they plan to allocate and announce conjured votes for President Buhari and the APC.
“It will interest Nigerians to note that this is the same Amina Zakari that was alleged to have played some roles in the 2018 governorship election in Osun state, where the electoral processes were flagrantly abused.
“In appointing Mrs. Amina Zakari to head the collation of this Presidential election, Prof. Yakubu has confirmed that he has been compromised and that he has already succumbed to pressure by the Buhari Presidency and APC to open the way for the self-succession of President Buhari. “The fact remains that there is no way Amina Zakari will not allocate votes to her blood relation, President Buhari, whom Nigerians have indicated clearly that they are not ready to return to office as President.
“With Amina Zakari at the head of results collation, there is no way votes cast by Nigerians will count”.
We’II Ensure Peaceful 2019 Elections
Buratai Meanwhile, ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, has promised to ensure security of lives and property of all citizens of the country.
Buratai who gave the assurance yesterday during the flagoff of the Operation ‘Egwe Eke III’ at the theatre headquarters in Owo, Ondo state said the Army is prepared to work with other security agencies to ensure a violence -free election.
He said that the operation Egwe Eke III exercise which is an organ of operation “Python Dance” is aimed at checkmating any criminal act that could arise before, during and after the 2019 general elections. Represented by the General Officer Commanding 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj-Gen Okwudili Azinta, he revealed that the troops will be deployed to all the flashpoints across the 18 local government areas of the state in order to stem the tide of kidnaping and militancy.
According to the Army chief, the exercise which would be carried out both on land and water is expected to last till February 24, 2019.
He said, “This exercise will be on from today till February 24 to checkmate the activities of criminals before, during and after the coming elections.
“Our men will be everywhere in the state, both on land and water, to check the threat of criminals who might want to cash in on on the current security situation in the country and Ondo State to cause trouble.
“Let me also assure the people of the state that there will not be hidden place for kidnappers in the state.”
Atiku Kicks Against INEC’s Plan To Use Incident Forms
Meanwhile, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has rejected plans by the INEC to reintroduce the use of incident forms for the 2019 elections.
Atiku who said the move by INEC is unacceptable noted that any decision to use incident forms in the February 16, 2019 elections is an attempt to toe the line of President Muhammadu Buhari, who thrice refused to sign the amended Electoral Act, for fear of the use of card readers, which would prevent rigging by desperate power mongers.
A statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, said, “Atiku Abubakar notes that data from the 2015 elections show that 75% of the almost 14 million people who voted without biometric accreditation in 2015, were linked to Muhammadu Buhari.
“There are no reliable and accurate means of knowing who those voters were and whether they were genuine voters or sham voters.
This disproportionate number of voters who voted without biometric accreditation in 2015 affected the integrity of those elections and we hold the INEC to its oft-repeated promise not to use anything but the Smart Card Readers and PVCs for the 2019 elections.
“We know that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has been desperate to avoid the use of Smart Card Readers and PVCs for the 2019 elections and the reported volte face by the INEC can only raise concerns about the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau.
“Atiku Abubakar reminds the INEC that the world is watching and Nigerians are alert to see if the present Chairman and board of INEC would place national interests above narrow oligarchic interest.”
The former vice president further reminded the Chairman of the INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu of his promise to Nigerians at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room National Stakeholders’ Forum on Elections which held in Abuja on December 10, 2018, where he assured that the smart card reader has become an integral part of the electoral process and will be deployed for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.
I Won’t Disappoint, PMB Assures Nigerians Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed gratitude for the confidence reposed in him by Nigerians from different walks of life, vowing that he will not disappoint them.”
The president spoke yesterday at the presidential villa when was decorated Grand Patron of the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA) by the Board of Trustees of the prime media awards organisation in the country.
He described the investiture as “a timely honour,” adding that he had known a good number of the members of the NMMA board, “since the time I didn’t even know I would be here.”
Former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority, Engr. Vincent Maduka, who led the delegation, said President Buhari was qualified to be grand patron, “because you respect the rights of the media to practice, without any hindrance.”
It was noted that under President Buhari, no media house has been shut, and the first ever campus television license was awarded to the University of Lagos, under the chairmanship of veteran Mass Communication teacher, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye. Engr Maduka said the NMMA was established in 1990, to promote excellence in Nigerian media, and has hosted 26 grand award presentations, with the latest holding just a week ago.
Part of the goals of NMMA, he added, was the promotion of patriotism, and unity of the country.
Also, President Buhari commended Nigerians who have made immense personal sacrifices to support him since he joined partisan politics.
He noted that they did so out of personal conviction he not known to be a very generous person.
He also said the contributions of worthy Nigerians to national development will soon be appreciated through the award of National Honours.
Receiving a delegation of members of Buhari Support Group Centre (BSGC) at State House, Abuja, yesterday, the said the intention of the administration is to “leave a better country for our children, and for coming generations,” and those who partake in such national effort would be duly rewarded with National Honours.
“Many people are qualified for such honours.
We are looking at it, and we will appreciate the contributions of such people,” President Buhari added.
President Buhari was decorated as Grand Patron of the Buhari Support Group Centre, and also presented with two books and discs done by the group.