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INEC and new parties: Go to court, APC tells Atiku’s coalition *Absolves Tinubu
Just like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and others who complained about being rigged out of the 2023 presidential election, in which the stood against Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressive Congress (APC), has yet again delivered the same message to them – go to court.
The ruling party sang the simple song to the complaints by the coalition of being denied registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which they said is sitting on scores of applications by Nigerians to register new political parties.
Incidentally, all the efforts of the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), to upturn the result of the election as announced by INEC, through the courts came to naught as their claims of rigging the process were wantonly thrown out.
Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation and member of the coalition, had alerted of the attitude of INEC in rebuffing attempts at new party registrations, when he appeared on Tuesday as a guest of Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS, television network.
Berating Mahmoud Yakubu, Chairman of the commission, whom he said was worse that Maurice Iwu, his last but one predecessor, accused of supervising some of the most flawed elections in Nigeria, Amaechi, had told his host that unlike Attahiru Jega who took over from the former INEC boss, who conducted the 2003 and 2007 elections, the current boss was becoming a democratic disaster by taking the country back to the old days.
Hear him: “The current Chairman of INEC can only be compared to Iwu. When we were to register APC, Jega opened the door and we complied with the registration requirements. He got APC registered.
“The current man, if you comply with all these, he would not register you. Already INEC is biased. So, the only thing I can tell you now is that looking at the way Nigeria has run the election, even the option A4 led us forward. At least a lot of transparency.
“You were sure of what was going on. Then we came back to meet people like Iwu and others and the current one and things got worse. So, you don’t know whether to say we are progressing or we are regressing… there’s a state capture using the electoral institution as a machine.
“Jega was a man of conscience. Yakubu has already made it clear he would not register new political parties. Already he (Yakubu) is stopping parties from being registered. Already, INEC has taken sides. INEC is no longer the impartial umpire.”
But Felix Morka, spokesman of the APC, in a quick riposte, on Wednesday, wondered why the former Governor of Rivers State, would resort to crying alone instead of taking steps to remedy the situation, since INEC was a distinct institution, whose activities were actionable.
A guest of The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS, Morka, exonerated Tinubu from the ugly narrative, insisting that he had no hand in such anti-democratic moves, which he described in the first place as “idle speculations.”
His words: “INEC is an institution created by law. It has a clear mandate either to regulate political parties or to manage electoral process. We cannot second-guess that. INEC will deal with applications for registration of political parties based on legal criteria. It is not a political process. INEC is a statutory authority, meaning that INEC is a compellable agency.
“If there is anyone who has attempted to register a political party, who has been unfairly denied that facility to register, and he believes that INEC has ignored clear legal standards which they have met to register their party – look, I’m a lawyer, a senior lawyer for that matter – if I were in that position, I will take out a writ of mandamus to compel INEC to do its job.
“It’s not enough for people to just bandy allegations around. It’s like somebody who has not met the standards, has not met the requirements to register a political party and comes to the national television to put out a statement and say, we’re being denied. Nobody is being denied.
“If you assert, you must prove. If you think INEC is denying you unfairly, or that INEC is pandering to some executive or whatever instruction or manipulation, you must show evidence of that, and it’s not that hard to show evidence of such a thing. So, it’s not enough to come to Nigerians and say we’re being denied when you’ve not met even the simple threshold requirement that qualifies you to be registered.
“You think INEC will register you because INEC wants to pander to some sentiments or emotions. That’s not how it works. It doesn’t work like that in Nigeria, and it doesn’t work like that anywhere else. So, I think that those who are making that suggestion should go back and figure what they’re doing.
“If they think they have met the standard as I said, they need to take on INEC. They should go to court and compel INEC to do its job. INEC has a statutory, enforceable duties they should perform. So, I don’t buy that. I don’t buy that at all.”
Flaunting Tinubu’s performance in the last two years, he said: “This President has done more than all the presidents before him. His direction of ordering our priorities, tackling some of the most acerbic challenges faced by the economy of our country, he has decided that he’s not about looking for cheap popularity, but doing those things that may momentarily seem unpopular but are decidedly crucial to a long term good health of our country’s economy.
“All of the hues and cries by members of the oppositions whether its Rotimi Amaechi or former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, or former Kaduna Governor, Malam El-Rufai don’t cut it. The President is focused on matters that guarantee the long term health of our country.”
“What is funny is that all of these voices put together don’t even begin to speak to what they think this President should be doing different from what he’s doing. Not one of them has come with any kind of informed prescription of what the President should be doing.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
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