Tension As Nigerians Elect Govs, Lawmakers Today

Amid tension, Nigeria will again be shut down today to elect Governors and state lawmakers, the last leg of the ballot that began with that of the National Assembly (NASS) on April 9, and produced the President on April 16, with violent reaction from the North. Only 23 states will vote for Governor and legislators. Kano and Bauchi will do so on April 28. Lawmakers will be elected today in nine other states, but the contest for Governor will hold next year. A new Anambra Governor will not emerge until 2014, likewise in Ekiti. Low turn out is expected in the North, especially in the flash points where Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) members wreaked havoc for days, and killed and maimed, in their agitation over the result of the Presidential vote. Tough fights, particularly for Governor, are on the cards in Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, and Niger, among others. In Kwara, it is a dead heat between Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship candidate, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Dele Belgore. Three parties have demanded a change in the elections in Niger, following the discovery that the logos of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Citizens Popular Party (CPP) are missing from the ballot paper. In Borno, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), CPC, and PDP are locked down in a do-or-die battle. Down South, Accord Party (AP) Governorship candidate in Oyo, Rashidi Ladoja, warned the PDP against rigging, declaring that, “It is rig and roast.” ACN Governorship candidate, Abiola Ajimobi, told Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to begin writing his handover note. The Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) and the PDP raised the tempo in Ogun, with the PPN accusing PDP Governorship candidate, Adetunji Olurin, of falsifying his age. The PPN recalled that Olurin had told the then Television Service of Oyo State (TSOS), now Broadcasting Service of Oyo State (BCOS), in an interview that he was born in December 1944 – which makes him 66 years old. “Whereas in a documentary on the same Olurin, regarding his Governorship ambition and broadcast on April 24 on Gateway Television (GTV), he claimed he joined the military in 1967 at the age of 21. “By this, his claim was that he was born in 1946. With this clear lie, Olurin gives himself away as someone that should not be trusted by the people of Ogun State whose mandate to govern he seeks,” the PPN argued in a statement. Governor Babatunde Fashola is in pole position for re-election in Lagos, yet his  ACN is nervous.  On April 16, Lagosians chose Goodluck Jonathan as President with a wide margin, saying they did so for his personality, but stressed that they did not vote for his PDP and would not do so today. The ACN has alleged plans by the PDP to rig in the South West, which did not vote for the PDP in the NASS election on April 9, but which Jonathan carried a week later. A massive deployment of troops has been noticed in some states. Both the General Officer Commanding of the 2 Division of the Army in Ibadan, Muhammed Abubakar, and the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Salihu Hashimu, warned the people not to do anything that would hinder a peaceful  poll.  ‘’Security arrangements are already on the ground the Oke-Ogun area, while as we did during the last Presidential election, we will be on the ground in the three  Senatorial Districts “Security operatives are already in possession of the list of trouble makers in Oyo State,” they said. Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti, Muhammed Jimoh, added that any act intended to undermine the peaceful conduct of the elections will not be tolerated. The NASS election in Ekiti was shifted to today, and the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Halilu Pai,  disclosed on Monday that election materials have been distributed to the 16 councils in the state. Governor  Kayode Fayemi has promised the arrest and prosecution of trouble makers. From Abuja, the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ade Abolurin,  noted that the elections are “more of the survival of the fittest.” He said the NSCDC “cannot afford not to effectively monitor political activities and place actors under surveillance in order to checkmate some of them who are criminally minded and have resorted to the use of force to forment trouble and cause mayhem with their do-or-die attitude.” Police Headquarters Spokesman, Olusola Amoren, warned  youths to avoid being used by politicians who want to win at all costs. “The police, in collaboration with all other security and law enforcement agents, are working together to ensure violence free and fair elections. All eligible voters are advised to go out and cast their votes without fear of intimidating and molestation.   “They are also enjoined to leave the immediate voting vicinity and allow their various party agents to take the responsibility of protecting and watching all votes cast until they are duly counted and recorded by INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) officials,” Amoren explained in a statement.  The INEC itself clarified on Monday that it has rescheduled NASS election in the outstanding wards of Ekeremor and Sagbama Councils in Bayelsa State for April 28.  A statement issued by Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, confirmed that the Commission is ready for all the polls today and on April 28. Another statement issued by the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Public Awareness on Security  and Civic Responsibilities, Lateef Adegbite, advised voters nationwide to conduct themselves in an orderly manner.