Tag Archives: Presidential Election

47 Candidates To Contest In Benin Republic Presidential Election

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The Republic of Benin National Electoral Commission (CENA) said 47 candidates have filed their papers to contest Benin’s presidential election due on 28 February.

 

It said in a release on Wednesday in Cotonou that among the candidates are economic operators, former ministers, Members of Parliament and two army generals.

 

CENA said Forces for Emerging Benin (FCBE), the coalition of outgoing president Boni Yayi, is presenting Lionel Zinsou, current Prime Minister, as its candidate.

 

It said the opposition Union for the Nation (UN) is fielding Erick Houndete, second vice-president of the Beninese Parliament while the Party for Democratic Change (PRD) of Mr Adrien Houngbédji, who the opposition mobilized to elect as Speaker of Parliament in May 2015, is backing the candidature of the Prime Minister.

 

CENA said the list of candidates would be transmitted to the Constitutional Court for validation.

 

It said further that there are 4,726,923 voters, with 99 per cent of them in the country, while the rest are outside.

 

CENA said the 14 days campaign would be from 12-26 February.

 

“The second round of the election would be held on 13 March 2016 if no candidate secures more than half of the votes in the first round.”

 

Although the campaign has not been officially launched, several potential candidates or their supporters are going round the country mobilising voters.

 

 

(PANA/NAN)

Crisis Rocks Edo PDP Over Alleged Diversion Of Rice

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Crisis is rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State, following allegations that one of its governorship aspirants (names withheld) diverted rice meant to be distributed to members of the party prior to the presidential election, which was brought to the state by the campaign organisation of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

 
The crisis erupted after members of the party observed that the governorship aspirant was sharing the rice to his supporters as Christmas gift after he allegedly super-imposed his picture on that of former President Jonathan on the bags of rice.

Kashamu
A chieftain of PDP in the state, Mr Okharedia Ihimekpen, described the discovery as shocking and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the ongoing probe to funds expended during the former President Jonathan’s campaign to Edo State.

 
He said, “It was shocking when we saw that the bags of rice were actually meant to be distributed during the presidential campaign but this aspirant confiscated them. I want to appeal to the Federal Government to extend the Dasukigate probe to Edo State and if this aspirant is indicted he should be prosecuted and disqualified from the governorship race.

 
“We call on all Edo people to distance themselves from elements like this because if they are allowed again into the corridors of power, Edo State will be for sale. Such people should be made to return all the rice and money they collected on behalf of Edo PDP members which they pocketed. We expect PDP to disqualify him because in a decent society, people like that should be charged to court after they are banned from contesting for political positions.

 
“The PDP should rediscover themselves before talking about election so that we don’t run into another era of holocaust,” he stated.

 

 

Credit : Vanguard

Report Accuses Okonjo-Iweala For Illegally Approving Sum From Abacha Loot To Dasuki Few Weeks Before Presidential Election

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The immediate past Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, illegally approved the transfer of at least N61.4 billion ($300 million and £5.5 million) from funds recovered from late dictator, Sani Abacha, to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, few weeks to the 2015 presidential election, Premium Times report.

The former Minister signed off on the transfer but then closed her eyes to how the funds were spent, requesting then President Goodluck Jonathan to directly demand accountability from Mr. Dasuki, according to documents seen by this newspaper.

The funds were never appropriated before they were transferred, a clear violation of Nigeria’s fiscal responsibility law.

Mr. Dasuki, alongside the former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa and founder of DAAR communications, owners of Africa Independent Television and Raypower radio network, Raymond Dokpesi, are being investigated for their roles in the disbursement of $2.1 billion and N643 billion meant for the procurement of arms to fight the raging insurgency in Nigeria’s north east region.

The recovered Abacha loot are funds returned to the Nigerian government from monies stolen from the country’s treasury by Mr. Abacha.

It is not clear whether these funds in question were part of the arms procurement funds for which Mr Dasuki is being investigated.

But a letter signed by Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, seen by Premium Times, showed that 50 per cent of the recently recovered Abacha loot was allotted for “urgent security need” such as the procurement of arms and ammunition while the other half was set aside to be used for development purposes.

The letter, dated January 20, 2015, which was addressed to Mr Jonathan revealed that the money was transferred following a January 12, 2015 request by the office of the NSA under Mr Dasuki for funds for the procurement of arms and ammunition as well as intelligence equipment.

“Please find a request by the National Security Adviser (NSA) for the transfer of $300 million and £5.5 million of the recovered Abacha funds to an ONSA [Office of the National Security Adviser] operations account,” the letter read.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Roch Kabore Wins Burkina Faso Presidential Election

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Burkina Faso’s electoral body on Tuesday announced Roch Kabore as winner of the presidential election.

Provisional results from Sunday’s election showed Mr. Kabore winning 53.5 per cent of the votes to defeat former Finance Minister Zephirin Diabre, who scored 29.7 per cent, and 12 other candidates, the electoral commission said.

Turnout for the election was about 60 per cent, the outright majority means there would be no run-off.

“This election went off in calm and serenity, which shows the maturity of the people of Burkina Faso,” Barthelemy Kere, president of the electoral commission, told a news conference.

Crowds celebrated the news in the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou, honking car and motorbike horns.

The election of Kabore, the nation’s former prime minister, represented a pivotal moment for the West African nation.

The country had been ruled by leaders who came to power in coups for most of its history since independence from France in 1960.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Guru Maharaji Reveals Winner Of Presidential Election

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The Spiritual Leader of One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaji Ji, has advised the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), to forget Nigeria’s presidency. “There is no vacancy for Buhari at Aso Rock,” he declared in a statement on Sunday.

According to him, “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is the verifiable divine choice of the forthcoming presidential election. As the Living Perfect Master of creation in whose hands the fate of Nigerian project lies spiritually, I declare divinity’s decision to return Jonathan to Aso Rock over Muhammadu Buhari.

Read More: dailypost

My Husband Will Win Presidential Election- Aisha Buhari

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The wife of the Presidential can­didate of the All Progressives Con­gress (APC), Hajia Aisha Buhari has declared that her husband, General Muhammadu Buhari and his party, APC would win the March 28 elections. Aisha Buhari spoke yester­day, at the Government House in Kano, during her town hall meeting organised for her to meet with women groups and representatives from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states.

She hinged the prospects of the success of their party at the presidential poll on the huge support her husband was receiving from all over the country, including the support of women in Nigeria. According to her, the peo­ple of the Northern region were being looked down upon as Almajiris, and charged them to see the forthcoming election as a challenge, and thereby come out en masse to vote the APC to victory.

Read More: sunnewsonline

We Will Win If Election Is Free & Fair, Says NCP Presidential Candidate

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Presidential candidate of the NCP, Martin Onovo, says he is “the President in waiting if the 2015 presidential election is free, fair and credible”.

Mr. Onovo made the assertion in Lagos on Thursday while speaking with a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). “We are the oldest party in Nigeria and we are the party of the Nigerian people…”

Read More: dailypost

Protect Votes Over Human Lives… The Mumu Reality of Nigerian Electorates

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It is not a NATION unless it has a leader. For the sovereignty of a country to be recognized among other nations of the world, its leadership must be authorised by its majority and equally govern its subjects; hence subjects must vote.

You may never guess how Nigeria can be “secure” until the season of election comes around. This is the season where ballot boxes and ballot papers have greater esteem and value than the life of the voter.

You need to hear the persisting sound of choppers flying over the skies of Abuja right now because three thousand and seventy three delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are to convene at the Eagle Square, for the party’s national convention. Also, roads have been blocked in Lagos because of the APC presidential primary election.

Truth is, money bags will be exchanged from one hand to another and at the end of the day, flagbearers will emerge at all cost, thus the impenetrable shell of security, implying that a certain percentage and class of individuals deserve protection.Where does that leave the electorates?

Go to the market places or the mechanic shops or even our public schools…, positioning a chopper to ensure the security situation of such areas probably doesn’t make any sense. Or maybe, they are not aspiring so the future of this nation’s sovereign existence does not depend on them. That probably explains why bombs explode like fireworks on our streets while about two or three army tanks are positioned at the first entry gate of a public political figure’s house or office, while convoys of armoured cars carried them around. Is there a price tag on the security of lives?

Yes! The governed are probably too many, so it doesn’t really matter how often or how many of them die on daily basis because the remnants will still vote. The “Country” must continue….

Dinah Adams @didiYargata

Credit: http://yargata.blogspot.com