Headline

PDP Accuses INEC of Plans to Rig 2019 Elections

Published

7 years ago

February 4, 2019

Eric

The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has again raised the alarm, claiming that the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has plans to rig the forthcoming general elections.

The party made its claim during a press conference addressed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.

Below is the detailed press statement:

PDP Exposes INEC Rigging Plan

Gentlemen of the press, we have called you up again to alert you of the fresh plots by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the 2019 general elections for President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP alerts Nigerians that INEC has been taking directives from the Buhari Presidency and the APC on how to manipulate our electoral process at various levels.

To this end, INEC has collected a list of people that will serve as electoral officials, including ad-hoc staff and returning officers at the polling units, from APC state governors and candidates, across the federation, on the directives of the Buhari Presidency.

The PDP is already privy to how the lists were populated with APC members and agents of the APC candidates, after clearance by the APC leaders in various states.

The PDP vehemently rejects this wicked plot by the Buhari Presidency, which is tailored to ensure institutional manipulation of the electoral process, including accreditation, voting and collation of results at the polling units, which is the base of the elections.

The PDP holds that by following the directive of the APC in such dubious rigging scheme, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, has violated section 29 (1) of the Electoral Act (as amended) and shows that he is in clear deficit of the required political will to conduct a credible, free and fair election.

This is especially in the light of the boasting by agents of the Buhari Presidency and the APC to give the INEC Chairman what they describe as the “Onnoghen treatment”, and frame him, if he fails to comply with their rigging plans.

In the light of the foregoing, the PDP demands that INEC, within the next 48 hours, publish the list of all officials and ad-hoc staff that will play any form of role in the election at all levels for verification by stakeholders.

Any delay or refusal by INEC to publish the list with 48 hours would be a clear acceptance that it has been compromised by the APC and this could lead to a very serious crisis with very dire consequences as the PDP will never allow anybody to rig it out in this election.

The PDP wants Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to note that the fate of our nation lies in his hands. It is left to him to decide whether he would end as a national hero or as a villain.

Furthermore, the PDP calls on the international community to place the INEC Chairman, Directors and Commissioners in INEC responsible for this election on their watch list and proceed to impose travel ban on them as well as hold them directly responsible should there be any form of rigging in the February 16, 2019 Presidential elections.

Finally, the PDP directs all its members, teeming supporters and all well meaning Nigerians across the nation to get ready to vote out President Buhari and protect their votes with all the energy available to them in the defence of our democracy and freedom as a people.

If President Buhari believes he is popular, he should make himself available for a free, fair, transparent and credible election. Anything short of this is completely unacceptable to Nigerians.

This is because Nigerians have already reached a consensus to vote out the incompetence, hunger, nepotism, pretense and manifest lies which the Buhari President truly represents.

Signed:

Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
And
Director, Media & Publicity
PDP Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO)

Headline

Tinubu Seeks Transfer of Jailed Ekweremadu Back to Nigeria

Published

3 days ago

November 11, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a strong delegation to London to address the situation of Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, who has been imprisoned in the UK since March 2023.

The delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.

The team arrived in London on Monday and held discussions with officials from the UK’s Ministry of Justice.

Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, said on Tuesday that the presidential delegation was in London to engage with UK authorities to consider the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.

The London Metropolitan Police detained the Ekweremadus in June 2022 after a man was deceitfully presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a relative of their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to convince medical professionals to perform an £80,000 transplant.

The 21-year-old man, who had allegedly been promised employment in the UK, reported the incident to the police in May of that year, saying that he had been brought to the country for an organ transplant.

In March 2023, the former presiding officer of Nigeria’s Senate was convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court. Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor connected to the case, were also found guilty.

This verdict marked the first of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.

On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu received a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence, while his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was given a ten-year prison sentence.

In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson determined that Beatrice should serve half of her sentence in custody and be supervised for the remainder. However, she was released from prison in January and has since returned to Nigeria.

Headline

Tinubu Congratulates Soludo on Reelection As Anambra Governor

Published

5 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Prof Chukwuma Soludo on his re-election as Governor of Anambra State.

Soludo was returned for a second term in office after recording a landslide victory, winning all 21 local government areas in the election, according to results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

The massive victory makes the professor the third governor in Anambra’s political history to win a second term.

In a statement he personally signed, President Tinubu described Soludo’s re-election as a testament to his visionary leadership and the significant progress recorded under his administration.

“Governor Soludo, the Solution, has demonstrated that knowledge is indeed power and that academic principles can be applied in serving the people, undergirding accountability, transparency, and prudent management of people and resources.

“I visited Anambra State in May this year, where I inaugurated some projects executed by the Soludo administration. I highlighted the good thinking behind the landmark projects embarked upon by Mr Solution. That experience is indeed remarkable and will remain indelible in my mind.

“I commend Governor Soludo for bringing discipline, grace, brilliance, and a fresh perspective to governance in Anambra. Under him, Anambra is living up to its motto as the Light of the Nation.

“I urge Governor Soludo to be magnanimous in victory and to seek the cooperation of his opponents in the just-concluded election.

“I assure Governor Soludo of my unwavering support, and I look forward to continued collaboration between Anambra and the Federal government.

“The victory of the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance in the election again demonstrates the vitality of our political system and the fact that victory for any progressive and hardworking leader can hardly be encumbered or denied,” the President said.

President Tinubu also commended the new INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, and his team for conducting what he described as a credible election, based on reports received so far.

He charged the commission to maintain high standards and continue to improve its performance “so we can strengthen and deepen our electoral system.”

The State Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, who announced the result, declared Soludo the winner after the collation of results from the local government areas.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected,” he said at the State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Awka, the state capital.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes. George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) polled 10,576 and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Headline

Soludo in Landslide Victory, Relected As Anambra Governor

Published

5 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has secured a second term in office until 2030 after he was declared the winner of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

According to the results announced by INEC in the early hours of Sunday, Soludo won by a landslide in the 21 local government areas of the South-East state.

The State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo as the winner of the exercise after the collation of results from the local government areas of the state where the election was held.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Edoba, a professor, told a gathering at the state headquarters of INEC in Awka, the state capital, where the election results were collated.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to trounce his closest rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes.

George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Shortly after the results were announced, there was jubilation at the residence of the governor in Isoufia community, Aguata LGA.