admits governorship elections were disasters
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd) has scored the conduct of the November 16 governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states low.
Monguno said things unthinkable happened during the elections.
The NSA, who spoke yesterday at an Inter-Agencies Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting in Abuja, said despite the assurances of adequate security before the elections, the polls were a fiasco where the unthinkable happened.
He did not elaborate on the details of the unthinkable things that happened. But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had kicked against the conduct and outcome of the elections in the two states.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, however, said the elections were peaceful despite related infractions.
He disclosed that 49 persons have been arrested on election related violence in the two states, including six persons arrested in connection with the killing of the woman leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs. Salome Abuh, in Kogi State.
Monguno, who was represented by Mr. Sanusi Galadima, recalled that prior to the two elections, the ICCES was told of the level of the preparedness and assured of adequate security.
They made promises and told the meeting of the level of their preparedness, but unfortunately, the fiasco was the answer. What happened was quite unthinkable.
Violence erupted in the two states of Bayelsa and Kogi, particularly the violence that occurred in Kogi State which aftermath of that election led to the death of a woman leader in that state, he regretted.
The NSA expressed the fear that if nothing is done to curtail such violence in future elections, voters might not come out to vote.
He advised that in the future elections, particularly the by-elections that would come up in January 2020, the various security agencies and political parties should meet to ensure that those elections were free of violence.
Monguno further advised party thugs to have a rethink, remarking that at a book launch in Abuja two days ago, all the creme de la crme of various political parties, the national chairmen of the strongest political parties the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were there.
I saw how they were embracing each other, laughing, which to my mind, that laughter means a lot: look at the useless people killing themselves because of politics!
So, it is our hope and prayer that if all the stakeholders pertaining to any election that would come up in future would come together the issue of violence would be addressed adequately.
The IGP, who was also represented by Assistant Inspector General (AIG), Bashir Makama, said 35 persons were arrested in Bayelsa while 14 were arrested in Kogi, for allegedly disrupting the elections.
The breakdown of the arrest in Kogi, Adamu said, include six for the death of PDP woman leader and eight for electoral violence.
The IGP, however, described the conduct of the polls as relatively peaceful, adding, despite the related infractions or some sort of thuggery that was observed and other challenges faced, the elections could be said to be relatively peaceful.
He said those arrested in connection with the Bayelsa governorship were being interrogated by the zonal police headquarters in Benin City.
They would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded, he assured
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, requested that security personnel on election duty should be identified by their names.
This, he said, is to know who to be held responsible for the proper conduct of elections in those locations.
This will not only enhance transparency, but the commission and security agencies will know who to contact in specific locations during elections when the need arises, he said.
The INEC Chairman further called for deepening of the use of technology to ensure the integrity of elections.
We are excited by some of the new provisions concerning electronic transmission of results.
We are glad that the electoral legal framework is removing some of the encumbrances to the full deployment of technology for the improvement of the electoral process in Nigeria, especially result collation and management.
The commission will work with the National Assembly for the expeditious passage of the amendment to the electoral legal framework so that work can begin in earnest to make future elections in Nigeria more technology-based.
It is long overdue, it is doable, it is achievable and it is inevitable, he emphasized.
Meanwhile, INEC has tasked stakeholders on the need to ensure free and fair elections in the country.
Mr. Emeka Ononamadu, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State, stressed this need in Enugu at a stakeholders forum on the new electoral bill before the National Assembly.
Ononamadu urged the stakeholders to identify challenges as well as proffer enduring solutions to electoral malpractices that had been militating against free and fair elections.
According to him, the challenges and solutions should be in line with what happened during the recent Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.
After the 2019 general election, there were also two major elections in Kogi and Bayelsa and I think the election must have given Nigerians insight into what direction should be taken.
Our gathering is to look at the event collectively for improvement in our electoral process.
In the last previous elections, we made sure that the elections were free and fair, he said.
Ononamadu told stakeholders that the review of the 2010 Electoral Act had become germane in view of observed lapses during the 2019 general election and the Bayelsa and Kogi states off season elections.
He absolved the commission of the allegations of being solely responsible for the electoral challenges facing the nation, saying that no organisation or individual will make elaborate arrangements and turn around to sabotage it.
The REC said INEC was taking the step of involving stakeholders to demonstrate that it meant business of realizing free, credible elections as the nation moves forward.
In her contribution, Mrs. Rita Chekwe, Head of Administration of INEC in Enugu, said that the commission was committed to delivering its mandate by conducting a credible election.
Chekwe noted that the gathering had become imperative for the stakeholders to brainstorm and make input for an effective electoral process in Nigeria without compromising their integrity.
Like Loading...
Related
Advertisements
More here:
NSA: Unthinkable things occurred in Kogi, Bayelsa polls - New Telegraph Newspaper
- WikiLeaks' Julian Assange: NSA critics got lucky because agency had no PR strategy - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- National Speakers Association New Jersey Chapter NSA - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- National Security Agency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- NSA - Satu Hari Di Bulan Juni (TULUS) (COVER) - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Hong Kong: Protesters blow whistles for NSA whistle blower - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- An Inside Look at the NSA With Whistleblower William Binney (Part 2 of 2) - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- UK: China will offer fig leaves to US exposed by NSA leaker - Assange - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- NSA ~ (Autodidactism) Whistleblowing - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Dropping #NSA Knowledge Like a Clumsy Librarian - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Full Show: Disband The NSA or; Corruption in the Capitol FO SHIZZLE {aTV002} - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- NSA DOCUMENTARY SIX YEARS BEFORE SNOWDEN - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- ShmooCon 2014: The NSA: Capabilities and Countermeasures - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- NSA Knew Of Heartbleed Bug, Refused To Protect Americans - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Former NSA Head To Become Columnist For Conservative Paper To Discuss Intelligence - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- An Inside Look at the NSA With Whistleblower William Binney (Part 1 of 2) - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Keynote Address by Shri Shivshankar Menon, NSA at International Seminar on Kautilya - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- NSA Wiretapping: A 4th Amendment Violation?: Blake Norvell at TEDxSMU - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Hang with Rand: Email Privacy, NSA Spying, and Defending Our Civil Liberties - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- NSA Surveillance and What To Do About It - Bruce Schneier - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- READER SUBMITTED: NSA CT April 2014 Meeting - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- MVI 1847 Obama's NSA Denies FOIA About MH 370! - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- George Galloway's Sputnik: Ewen MacAskill on Guardian / Edward Snowden NSA leaks (26Apr14) - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- CIA & NSA DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON ATTACK ON WHISTLE BLOWER - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Book TV - 2014 San Antonio Book Festival: Panel on the NSA, Big Brother, and Democracy - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- NSA Throwdown: John Oliver v. 60 Minutes - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- NSA will sit on security vulnerabilities because of terrorism - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- New water records show NSA Utah Data Center likely behind schedule - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- MVI 1871 NSA Might Be OnTo Me! - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- ZyXEL NSA 325 v2 Hands On - Deutsch / German notebooksbilliger.de - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- German opposition says US should destroy Merkel's NSA file - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Germany: NSA spying "unacceptable" says SPD - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- NSA Surveillance 2 - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- NSA Surveillance Panel 1 - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Chalk Talk How Snowden Breached NSA Security - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- NSA reveals some cyber security flaws are left secret - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- NSA data center uses less water than expected - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- April 2014 Breaking News Do you use Google or Yahoo? NSA Intercepts Google And Yahoo Traffic - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- Supreme Court could weigh in on NSA case, justice says - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- New NSA chief: Agency has lost trust - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NSA on Heartbleed: 'We're not legally allowed to lie to you' - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- What's The NSA Doing Now? Training More Cyberwarriors - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Anonymous NSA - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Cutting off H2O to the NSA - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Brazil: Greenwald slams US media, shares tips to avoid NSA - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- NSA IS TRYINGG 2 KILL ME FAMS - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- What was more popular on Twitter, NSA, NRA or NBA..today? - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- CIS111: NSA Uncovered - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Views from the Street on NSA Activities and Liberty (6/6) - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Views from the Street on NSA Activities and Liberty (4/6) - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Views from the Street on NSA Activities and Liberty (3/6) - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Views from the Street on NSA Activities and Liberty (2/6) - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Views from the Street on NSA Activities and Liberty (1/6) - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Germany: NSA may have accidentally outed secret base - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- ZyXEL NSA 325 v2 Installations-Wizard - Deutsch / German notebooksbilliger.de - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Tech firms to increase alerts about police requests for data -- report - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits US, after the NSA eavesdropping scandal - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- NSA spies on more US citizens than Russians Snowden - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- THE NEXT NSA?Police under scrutiny for using spying technology - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Ukraine and NSA will test Merkel - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- The Latest Attacks On NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden - Kevin Gosztola Discusses - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Still Report #246 - NSA Classifies MH370 Material - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Code Talker Induction into NSA Hall of Honor - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- NSA ( National Security Agency ) refusal to release documents on UFO's - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Obama & NSA Refuse FOIA Request on Malaysia Flight deemed classified - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Kafkawinstons World`s Channel Terminated NSA is replacing Channel`s with Sockpuppet Channel`s - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- NSA Volunteer Justin Hall at the NSA Comedy Tour February 2014 - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Barack Obama on NSA Surveillance I'd Be Concerned Too If I Wasn't in Government - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- GBPPR Vision #26: Overview of the NSA's TAWDRYYARD Radar Retro-Reflector - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- NSA proof phone Case - Video - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- 2014 NSA 2014 Million Dollar Publisher's Lab - Video - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- Gen. Michael Hayden - the Former Director of NSA and the CIA - Video - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- REVEALED: Here's The Solution To That Encoded NSA Puzzle Tweet - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- Michael Hayden's Unwitting Case Against Secret Surveillance - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- NSA's Encrypted Tweet: We're Hiring Code Breakers - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- Russ Tice: Life as a NSA Whistleblower - Video - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- What Is Going on at NSA These Days - Video - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- What is the Role of the NSA? AFF Dallas Debates - Video - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- Edward Snowden said CIA , and NSA had 52. 6 Billion for black budget - Video - May 5th, 2014 [May 5th, 2014]
- NSA looks to appeal to young cryptographers through coded ads - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- Code Cracked: Mysterious NSA Tweet Is Decrypted in Seconds - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]