18112022

8 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022
MEETING:
Senegalese President,
Macky Sall (left),
during a closed door
meeting with All
Africa Music Awards,
AFRIMA's President/
Executive Producer,
Mike Dada, in his
official residence, in
Dakar, where he
pledged support for
the hosting of the
awards, 'Teranga
Edition', scheduled to
hold in Dakar,
Senegal.
:Vanguard News
2023: Govs to blame for violence —IGP
By Kingsley
Omonobi & Festus
Osahon
THE INSPECTOR General of
Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has
said some state governors manifest
traits of political intolerance which
contributes to violence in the
country's electoral process.
Speaking yesterday at a meeting
with political parties and other
stakeholders in preparation for the
2023 general elections at Force
headquarters, the IGP said: "We
have been receiving reports of
some state governors who
encourage political thugs and subnational
security outfits under their
control to disrupt seamless and
statutorily guaranteed campaign
activities of parties or candidates
with whom they hold opposing
political views.
"In so doing, they deploy their
powers and influences to either
prevent the mounting of campaign
bill boards or pull them down, while
also denying political opponents
of spaces to undertake their
campaigns or peaceful political
congregations in contravention of
the provisions of the Electoral Act
2022 (As amended).
"Most of the recorded violent
incidents or threats often result
from political extremism,
misinformation, intolerance, wrong
political orientation, hate
speeches, incitement, and, most
importantly, the desperation of
strategic actors within the political
field who often place their parochial
political ambitions over and above
national security interests and our
nation’s stable democratic order."
To checkmate this resort to
violence, the IGP said: "INEC
should take decisive actions
against candidates and parties that
violate the Electoral Act in the
areas of conduct of political parties,
candidates, and other actors in
relation to hate speeches;
campaign funding regulations;
encouraging, supporting, or
inciting violence; and depriving
political opponents of basic
electoral rights guaranteed under
the Act".
On how the Nigerian Police
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
•Asks INEC to take decisive actions against candidates, parties violating Electoral Act
•Says joint Police, Army, DSS, NSCDC, Fire Service personnel to secure INEC offices
•Beyond mouthing it, IGP should take it a step further —Gov Okowa
Force and other security agencies
planned to tackle electoral violence,
IGP Alkali said: "We have resolved
to enhance intelligence gathering,
sharing and utilization of same to
stem acts of political violence;
upscale the deployment of security
teams to all INEC assets and
facilities nationwide, with teams
drawn from the Police, Nigeria
Army, Department of State
Services (DSS), Nigeria Civil and
Security Defence Corps, NSCDC,
and the Federal Fire Service.
"Take decisive, lawful action
against purveyors of hate speech,
incitement to violence,
mobilisation of thugs and other
violations, including the prompt
arrest, investigation, and
prosecution of offenders, in line
with the provisions of Sections 92
and 93 of the Electoral Act 2022 as
amended. Those already arrested
will face prosecution.''
Continuing, the IGP said: "This
meeting with the leadership of the
18 registered political parties in the
country became expedient,
following a noticeable trend within
the national political space which,
if not promptly addressed, could
evolve into a potent threat to not
just our national security but the
electoral process.
"Drawing from the experiences
of the past, electoral violence, both
in the process leading to an election
as well as the fall out of elections,
has always constituted the most
dangerous threat to our
democracy. Political violence
manifest in three forms.
"First is violence that is targeted
at the personnel and assets of the
Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, as recently
witnessed in Ogun and Osun
states.
The second form of political
violence manifests in the form of
inter-party intolerance and
violence which often become
particularly pronounced during
campaigns, elections, and postelections
phases.
"It is on record that not less than
52 cases of such politicallymotivated,
intra, and inter-party
violence have been recorded
across 22 states since the official
commencement of campaigns for
the 2023 general elections on
September 28, 2022.
"The last form of political violence
relates to the conduct of some state
governors who manifest traits of
political intolerance which often
inflame political tension.''
But Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of
Delta State, who spoke through
his Commissioner for Information,
Mr Charles Aniagwu, agreed with
the IGP.
He said: "We must say that we
are disturbed about certain vibes
coming from a number of states.
Why are we disturbed? Is because
a number if individuals are trying
to hide under certain guise to
strangulate the democratic space.
''Where you go and make certain
laws to contract that freedom at a
time like this that Nigerians need
that freedom, the freedom that we
need is much more important to
us than any other time.
"So when you see states
bringing in certain vibes to either
make it difficult for people to be
able to reach out to the electorate
or make it difficult for people to visit
their state and campaign, that
cannot be in line with the principles
of democracy.
"You saw what happened to PDP
when we traveled to Kaduna,
individuals came to the arena and
started unleashing some form of
terror to those who have come to
listen to their preferred presidential
candidate, they were chasing them
away because they are afraid of
the number of crowds that have
come.
"In Kaduna you saw the number
of individuals that were injured and
vehicles destroyed. It is better we
allow people no matter who they
are to come campaign and go, then
you can come and talk your own.
It's talk your own, I talk my own.
"So the IG needs to take it a step
further beyond mouthing it,
although we must commend him
for what he did in Borno, when, of
course, he tactically disagreed with
the Borno State command, that
not even investigated what
happened and came out with a
verdict that nothing happened,
even when the cameras have
shown the number of vehicles
destroyed.
"We trust that this IG will be in a
position to do the right thing. Don't
forget that he was here as a
commissioner and while he was
here, he also showed a lot of
integrity.''
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA—LEADER of the
National Coalition Front
NCFront and convener of the Big
Tent coalition of Political Parties,
Social Movements and Civil
Society organizations, Professor
Pat Utomi, has protested against
what he described as the nondistribution
of Permanent Voter
Cards PVCs in the coffers of the
Independent National Electoral
Commission INEC, alleging that
at least 9.3 million such cards were
lying idle in the commission's offices.
Utomi, who disclosed this when
he, alongside the chief spokesman
of the Peter Obi/Datti Ahmed
(Labour Party) Presidential
Campaign Council, Dr Tanko
Yusuf, and Dr Austin Kemie, led
an advocacy walk to INEC
Headquarters under the aegis of
the "Big Tent" yesterday, urged
INEC to decentralize the process
of PVC collection and if possible,
take the cards to the doorsteps of
Nigerians.
Most PVCs ready for
collection
Vanguard Media Christian
Fellowship holds end of the
year thanksgiving
THE VANGUARD Media
Christian Fellowship will
hold its 2022 end of the year
thanksgiving service on
November 30, 2022 at the
Corporate headquarters of
Vanguard Media Limited, Apapa,
Oshodi Expressway, Opposite
Berger Yard bus Stop Mile 2,
Lagos.
According to the co-ordinator
of the fellowship, Pastor
Emmanuel Orisi Emmanuel, the
theme of this year's programme
is “Every Yoke Must be
Destroyed”, inspired by the book
2023: US govt threatens visa
ban on election riggers,
backs adoption of BVAS
By Luminous
Jannamike
ABUJA—THE United States
government has threatened
to sanction anyone who
interferes with the democratic
process or instigates violence in
the 2023 general elections.
The US also said it would not
shy away from applying
sanctions, including visa
restrictions, on those found
culpable of election rigging.
Political Counselor at the U.S.
Embassy in Nigeria, Rolf Olson,
gave the warning at the Hubert
Humphrey Fellowship Alumni
Association Annual Seminar
2022 on "Promoting Electoral
Integrity in Nigeria: Prospects
and Challenges" yesterday in
Abuja.
It also threw its weight behind
the decision of Independent
National Electoral Commission,
INEC, to deploy the Bimodal
Voter Accreditation System,
BVAS, and electronic
transmission of results for the poll.
Noting that the BVAS and the
electronic transmission of vote
results sheets are to ensure the
integrity of the elections, Olson
maintained that the US had no
candidate in the elections.
Recall that the US government
had imposed visa restrictions on
some individuals for their actions
during the November 2019 Kogi
and Bayelsa state elections and
in the run-up to the September
and October 2020 Edo and Ondo
state elections.
Although the US did not
reveal the identities of those
banned, it said the decision
reflected its commitment to
strengthening democracy in
Nigeria.
On the 2023 elections, Olson
said: "It never ceases to amaze
me how often we see comments,
claims, and assertions from
people in social and traditional
media about what our supposed
objectives are in the elections,
which candidate or party we
favour, how to interpret certain
statements or actions of ours in
terms of what it means about our
intentions are perceptions.
"In reality, I think it's quite
simple to interpret us, especially
when it comes to the elections.
We always try to be clear in our
messages, so let me be clear here
on several important points:
"The United States does not
support any individual candidate
or party in this election cycle (or
for that matter, in any other
upcoming election). Our
interest is in supporting credible
and transparent elections that
reflect the will of Nigerian voters,
in a process that is conducted
peacefully, full stop."
2023: Utomi challenges INEC to
distribute 9.3m PVCs in its coffers
•Says registered voters shouldn't need cards to vote
•Come for your cards, we can't distribute them, says INEC
of Isiah 10.27. Emmanuel also
informed that Pastor M.O. Oke
National Evangelist of The
Apostolic Church Nigeria, will
be guest preacher during the
occasion.
He said the programme will
start by 1.00 pm and also
enjoined all staff of Vanguard and
the general public to join voices
with the fellowship to thank God
Almighty and also ask for divine
Visitation for a tremendous
turnaround for the best, not only
in Vanguard but also in Nigeria at
large.
In a swift reaction, INEC disclosed
that most of the PVCs were ready
for collection, adding that the
number of Nigerians who had
collected their cards were more than
those yet to do so.
Chief Press Secretary CPS to the
INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi
Oyekanmi, told Vanguard that it is
the duty of registered voters to
collect their cards in persons and
not by proxies.
He said: "The Independent
National Electoral Commission has
offices in all the states of the
federation and the 774 local
government areas to make the
Permanent Voter’s Card, PVC,
available for collection.
"Every registered voter has an
obligation to collect his or her
Permanent Voter’s Card in person.
The PVC cannot be collected by
proxy and there is a reason for that.
"From our experience, more
Nigerians have collected their PVCs
than those that haven’t. For
instance, as at January 2019, out of
the 84,004,084 registered voters,
72,775,502 or 86.63% had collected
their PVCs.
"Already, Nigerians have been
collecting their PVCs. The only
units that are not yet available for
collection, but which will be made
available soon are the ones
belonging to voters that registered
between January and July this year,
as well as those who applied for
transfer or replacement within the
same period.
"The commission has made
adequate arrangements to make
the PVCs available for collection
before the 2023 general election".
No need for PVCs
But Utomi queried the necessity
of even having the PVC as a
requirement for voting, saying with
biometrics authentication of a
potential voter, there was no need
to have a physical card.
He said: "It is the duty of INEC
to do everything possible to
decentralize and take down to the
people, their PVCs, to make sure
that everybody who was registered
gets his or her PVC.
"We even know that the process
is biometric. So, it should not even
matter if they don't have it
(PVCs). Once their faces and
fingerprints are recognized, they
should be able to vote. It is not
acceptable for Nigerians to be
disenfranchised.
"We know that about 9.3 million
voter cards are yet to be collected
and are sitting idle in INEC
offices. We want an explanation.
If INEC needs help, we are ready
to volunteer so that these cards
can get to their rightful owners.
"We also want to discourage
persons from further vandalizing
INEC offices and burning PVCs
which is capable of
disenfranchising Nigerians.
There is urgent need for the
dissemination of information
regarding the PVCs", he added.
Utomi urged INEC to make
extra efforts towards the
distribution of PVCs to Nigerians,
especially persons with
disabilities.
Tanko on his part, urged all
"Obidients", that is supporters of
Mr Peter Obi, to ensure they
replicated the advocacy walk
across the states and wards in order
to collect their PVCs.
We can't distribute
PVCs
Receiving the petition on
behalf of INEC, an Assistant
Director at the headquarters,
Kelechi Maduneme, said the
commission does not have the
capacity to distribute PVCs,
stating that Nigerians had to go
to their respective INEC local
government offices across the
country to collect the cards.
He said: "I have collected the
letter on behalf of my director
and it will be delivered to the
Honourable Chairman.