“NO
movement on that day except for those on essential duties and those on
election duty. No hunting on the Election Day. I am happy that the IG
has said that there would be no fishing during the polls. I don’t want
to hear that I am going to the bush to hunt. Anybody with arm must be
arrested. If he resists arrest, shoot him, I give you the order.”With these words yesterday, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Second Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Ibadan, Major Gen. Mohammed Abubakar, declared that it will not be business as usual for political thugs in Ondo State this weekend, particularly tomorrow. Those whose stock in trade is to perpetrate violence at elections should be ready to face the dire consequences as soldiers deployed for election duty have been ordered “to shoot any troublemaker who resists arrest.”
And ahead of tomorrow’s governorship election, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has warned broadcasting stations covering election proceedings to desist from bulletins that could pre-empt the results of the exercise or incite the people to violence.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State chapter of the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) has urged adherents of the Islamic faith to use today’s Jumaat services across the state to pray for peaceful conduct of tomorrow’s polls.
The GOC, who was at the Owena Barracks of the 32 Artillery Brigade in Akure, the Ondo State capital to address the soldiers, said nobody would be allowed to carry arms to the polling stations.
He said that movement would be restricted from 6pm to 6am but, according to him, motorists traveling across the state to other parts of the country would be allowed passage after they must have proved that they are not going into the state.
The GOC, who said he had received petition from an unnamed political party that one of the contestants had bribed some soldiers to allow his party rig during the election, said any soldier who is a member of any political party should declare as such, warning that anyone of his men found colluding with any party would be severely dealt with.
“No amount of money they promise you will turn you to Abiola or Dangote. These people worked for their money. So be satisfied with what the Nigerian Army is giving you,” Gen. Abubakar said. He disclosed that part of the security measures is a dress code for the troops to make it easy for real soldiers to identify fake ones.
The GOC declined to give the number of soldiers deployed for the election but said soldiers were moved in from many formations to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, a professor of political science, is already there in Akure. The inspector-General of Police has been told to deploy his men there and he too has relocated to Akure. The Director-General of State Security Service (SSS) too has been told by the National Security Adviser to keep his eye on Akure, capital of Ondo State.
No effort should be spared in preventing a repeat of the mayhem of 1983 in which an entrepreneur and publisher of some of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s great books, Chief Olaiya Fagbamigbe and many others who were tagged “traitors”, were brutally killed by thugs after a governorship election.
That was when the political rivalry between Chief Adekunle Ajasin of the then Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and Chief Akin Omoboriowo of the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) came to a head. The then election umpire, Federal Electoral Commission of Nigeria (FEDECO) had declared Omoboriowo winner of the 1983 gubernatorial election in the then Ondo State (now Ekiti & Ondo) and the state spontaneously erupted into violence.
The NBC, which is the regulatory body of the broadcast industry in the country, said it was ready to invoke the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code on political broadcast and political advertisement as stipulated in Sections 5.2.1 to 5.2.24 and 7.6.1 to 7.6.14 on the conduct of the Ondo election.
The Commission’s Deputy Director, Monitoring and Enforcement, Mrs. Bunmi Cole, who spoke on behalf of the Director-General, Yomi Bolarinwa, at a press conference in Akure, said “the commission’s regulatory role will not go unchallenged if it fails to address prevailing violations and warns against future contraventions of the NBC code.”
According to her, “the period of campaigns ends 24 hours to commencement of election. After this time, any form of interview, highlight or programme with the display of any political party logo or symbol, insignia or identification, is deemed as a campaign and attracts appropriate sanctions. The commission will also not hesitate to apply the full weight of the law on any broadcast station speculating or projecting election results.”
She cited Section 5.2.15 of the Code which stipulates that “A broadcaster shall broadcast election results or declaration of the winner only as announced by the authorised electoral officer for the election” with a warning that live broadcasts on election day “be handled by matured and experienced presenters while stations should avoid the use of alarming words or statements that could lead to pandemonium in the society.”
The commission also reminded broadcasters of the “principles of pluralism by giving equal airtime and comparable representations in all political programmes. Negative adverts abound in some stations and such shall be avoided.”
While stating that “broadcasting organisations shall recognise that they exercise freedom of expressions as agents of society, not for any personal or sectional rights, privileges and needs of their own or of their proprietors, relatives, friends or supporters,” the NBC said any station that contravenes the provisions shall “in the first instance, pay a fine of N500,000 and N1 million for subsequent breach, suspension or revocation of licence.”
Tomorrow, the people of Ondo State will elect the man who would lead them for the next four years. Going by the amount of zeal and determination shown in all fronts in the build up to the campaigns and till yesterday, Ondo has become the beautiful bride, and political suitors are falling over one another to her take home. For Ondo, the stakes have become so high that the best of political pundits would be careful to place a bet on how the elections would go.
Yet, a reading of the situation clearly shows that a number of factors, which have been at play in Ondo and around the country, would go a long way to determining where tomorrow’s sun would set among the three senatorial zones of the state.
One factor that was put to good use in the campaigns of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is the desire for political harmony in the Southwest. It fits the mood in the country, whereby more people are harping on the option of regional governments as replacement for an omnibus federal system that seems not to work.
Former Lagos State Governor and leader of the ACN, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his henchmen in the Southwest used this proposal to woo Ondo voters; and this was ably demonstrated in the mega rallies staged by the party across the state. The entire ACN crowd of Southwest governors, their deputies, commissioners and other foot soldiers were in Ondo severally. They mobilised men and resources, like a conquering force on a campaign. Their formidable presence had the force to either intimidate or persuade an enemy force to surrender.
President Goodluck Jonathan was in Ondo to support the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olusola Oke. The entire PDP national secretariat was mobilised to rally support for Oke. Suddenly, the PDP that was floored in the 2011 general elections has gained strength, and is very desirous of returning to the Southwest with Ondo as stepping-stone.
Jonathan did very well in Ondo in 2011 and there are theories of a pact between him and Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s Labour Party (LP). So, what has happened between then and now? Tomorrow will tell!
Governor Mimiko is well loved by his people and by outsiders too, just the way Oshiomhole, Fashola and Fayemi are deified at home and abroad for having an understanding of democracy and development. The ordinary folks believe in him and the modest plan he has for the development of Ondo State.
Ordinarily, this ought to be enough, to deliver tomorrow into his hands, except that, he is surrounded by ‘enemies’, who are poaching menacingly from his treasuries – the ordinary voters.
Will Ondo people be tough enough to make this crucial decision and underscore who they are in the political configuration of Nigeria and the Southwest? They are said to be very discerning, not easily intimidated and damn sure of whom they are. Will they give Mimiko a second chance to make history; or will they join their kith and kin in the Southwest political train; or will they return to Egypt and go the PDP way? Tough choices, but tomorrow will decide.
NACOMYO, which comprises 357 Muslim youth groups in the state’s 18 local councils, said it was making the call for prayers to seek spiritual protection for the state during and after the exercise.
A statement by its Chairman, Ismail Ododoloto and Secretary, Olukayode Adesuyi, said the decision to seek spiritual protection was taken by the Political Awareness Committee of the body, which met on the election.
The body enjoined the Muslim community in the state to exercise their franchise by going out tomorrow to participate in the exercise by voting peacefully for the candidates of their choice.
“NO movement on that day except for those on essential duties and those on election duty. No hunting on the Election Day. I am happy that the IG has said that there would be no fishing during the polls. I don’t want to hear that I am going to the bush to hunt. Anybody with arm must be arrested. If he resists arrest, shoot him, I give you the order.”
With these words yesterday, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Second Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Ibadan, Major Gen. Mohammed Abubakar, declared that it will not be business as usual for political thugs in Ondo State this weekend, particularly tomorrow. Those whose stock in trade is to perpetrate violence at elections should be ready to face the dire consequences as soldiers deployed for election duty have been ordered “to shoot any troublemaker who resists arrest.”
And ahead of tomorrow’s governorship election, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has warned broadcasting stations covering election proceedings to desist from bulletins that could pre-empt the results of the exercise or incite the people to violence.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State chapter of the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) has urged adherents of the Islamic faith to use today’s Jumaat services across the state to pray for peaceful conduct of tomorrow’s polls.
The GOC, who was at the Owena Barracks of the 32 Artillery Brigade in Akure, the Ondo State capital to address the soldiers, said nobody would be allowed to carry arms to the polling stations.
He said that movement would be restricted from 6pm to 6am but, according to him, motorists traveling across the state to other parts of the country would be allowed passage after they must have proved that they are not going into the state.
The GOC, who said he had received petition from an unnamed political party that one of the contestants had bribed some soldiers to allow his party rig during the election, said any soldier who is a member of any political party should declare as such, warning that anyone of his men found colluding with any party would be severely dealt with.
“No amount of money they promise you will turn you to Abiola or Dangote. These people worked for their money. So be satisfied with what the Nigerian Army is giving you,” Gen. Abubakar said. He disclosed that part of the security measures is a dress code for the troops to make it easy for real soldiers to identify fake ones.
The GOC declined to give the number of soldiers deployed for the election but said soldiers were moved in from many formations to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, a professor of political science, is already there in Akure. The inspector-General of Police has been told to deploy his men there and he too has relocated to Akure. The Director-General of State Security Service (SSS) too has been told by the National Security Adviser to keep his eye on Akure, capital of Ondo State.
No effort should be spared in preventing a repeat of the mayhem of 1983 in which an entrepreneur and publisher of some of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s great books, Chief Olaiya Fagbamigbe and many others who were tagged “traitors”, were brutally killed by thugs after a governorship election.
That was when the political rivalry between Chief Adekunle Ajasin of the then Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and Chief Akin Omoboriowo of the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) came to a head. The then election umpire, Federal Electoral Commission of Nigeria (FEDECO) had declared Omoboriowo winner of the 1983 gubernatorial election in the then Ondo State (now Ekiti & Ondo) and the state spontaneously erupted into violence.
The NBC, which is the regulatory body of the broadcast industry in the country, said it was ready to invoke the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code on political broadcast and political advertisement as stipulated in Sections 5.2.1 to 5.2.24 and 7.6.1 to 7.6.14 on the conduct of the Ondo election.
The Commission’s Deputy Director, Monitoring and Enforcement, Mrs. Bunmi Cole, who spoke on behalf of the Director-General, Yomi Bolarinwa, at a press conference in Akure, said “the commission’s regulatory role will not go unchallenged if it fails to address prevailing violations and warns against future contraventions of the NBC code.”
According to her, “the period of campaigns ends 24 hours to commencement of election. After this time, any form of interview, highlight or programme with the display of any political party logo or symbol, insignia or identification, is deemed as a campaign and attracts appropriate sanctions. The commission will also not hesitate to apply the full weight of the law on any broadcast station speculating or projecting election results.”
She cited Section 5.2.15 of the Code which stipulates that “A broadcaster shall broadcast election results or declaration of the winner only as announced by the authorised electoral officer for the election” with a warning that live broadcasts on election day “be handled by matured and experienced presenters while stations should avoid the use of alarming words or statements that could lead to pandemonium in the society.”
The commission also reminded broadcasters of the “principles of pluralism by giving equal airtime and comparable representations in all political programmes. Negative adverts abound in some stations and such shall be avoided.”
While stating that “broadcasting organisations shall recognise that they exercise freedom of expressions as agents of society, not for any personal or sectional rights, privileges and needs of their own or of their proprietors, relatives, friends or supporters,” the NBC said any station that contravenes the provisions shall “in the first instance, pay a fine of N500,000 and N1 million for subsequent breach, suspension or revocation of licence.”
Tomorrow, the people of Ondo State will elect the man who would lead them for the next four years. Going by the amount of zeal and determination shown in all fronts in the build up to the campaigns and till yesterday, Ondo has become the beautiful bride, and political suitors are falling over one another to her take home. For Ondo, the stakes have become so high that the best of political pundits would be careful to place a bet on how the elections would go.
Yet, a reading of the situation clearly shows that a number of factors, which have been at play in Ondo and around the country, would go a long way to determining where tomorrow’s sun would set among the three senatorial zones of the state.
One factor that was put to good use in the campaigns of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is the desire for political harmony in the Southwest. It fits the mood in the country, whereby more people are harping on the option of regional governments as replacement for an omnibus federal system that seems not to work.
Former Lagos State Governor and leader of the ACN, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his henchmen in the Southwest used this proposal to woo Ondo voters; and this was ably demonstrated in the mega rallies staged by the party across the state. The entire ACN crowd of Southwest governors, their deputies, commissioners and other foot soldiers were in Ondo severally. They mobilised men and resources, like a conquering force on a campaign. Their formidable presence had the force to either intimidate or persuade an enemy force to surrender.
President Goodluck Jonathan was in Ondo to support the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olusola Oke. The entire PDP national secretariat was mobilised to rally support for Oke. Suddenly, the PDP that was floored in the 2011 general elections has gained strength, and is very desirous of returning to the Southwest with Ondo as stepping-stone.
Jonathan did very well in Ondo in 2011 and there are theories of a pact between him and Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s Labour Party (LP). So, what has happened between then and now? Tomorrow will tell!
Governor Mimiko is well loved by his people and by outsiders too, just the way Oshiomhole, Fashola and Fayemi are deified at home and abroad for having an understanding of democracy and development. The ordinary folks believe in him and the modest plan he has for the development of Ondo State.
Ordinarily, this ought to be enough, to deliver tomorrow into his hands, except that, he is surrounded by ‘enemies’, who are poaching menacingly from his treasuries – the ordinary voters.
Will Ondo people be tough enough to make this crucial decision and underscore who they are in the political configuration of Nigeria and the Southwest? They are said to be very discerning, not easily intimidated and damn sure of whom they are. Will they give Mimiko a second chance to make history; or will they join their kith and kin in the Southwest political train; or will they return to Egypt and go the PDP way? Tough choices, but tomorrow will decide.
NACOMYO, which comprises 357 Muslim youth groups in the state’s 18 local councils, said it was making the call for prayers to seek spiritual protection for the state during and after the exercise.
A statement by its Chairman, Ismail Ododoloto and Secretary, Olukayode Adesuyi, said the decision to seek spiritual protection was taken by the Political Awareness Committee of the body, which met on the election.
The body enjoined the Muslim community in the state to exercise their franchise by going out tomorrow to participate in the exercise by voting peacefully for the candidates of their choice.
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