Today’s Headlines: INEC Official Shot In C’River, Abducted Rivers APC Campaign Director Shot Dead
INEC Official Shot In Cross River
An ad hoc official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Miss Glory Effiom Essien, has been shot.
According to the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Prof Gabriel Yomeri, Essien was shot while on election duty on Saturday.
He said an unidentified gun man shot her on her way to Bakassi Local Government Area, but she is now responding to treatment.
“The victim is responding to medical attention at the University of Calabar, UCTH.”
One of the militants operating along the Bakassi creeks reportedly fired the shot that hit the official.
An eye witness said, “The stray bullet hit her while she was in a speed boat heading towards Bakassi communities for governorship and House of Assembly Elections. She slumped before being rushed to a hospital.
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“She was hit from behind inside the speed boat she boarded, and she became unconscious.”
Abducted Rivers APC Campaign Director Shot Dead
Gunmen have shot dead the All Progressives Congress Campaign Coordinator in Ahoada-West Local Government Area of Rivers State, Chisom Lennard, hours after he was abducted.
Lennard was reportedly kidnapped by the gunmen dressed in police uniform while voting during the governorship and state House of Assembly elections at Ibagwa polling unit 2, Ward 10 in Ahoada West LGA.
The APC chieftain, it was gathered, had tried to stop the gunmen from snatching election materials when he was whisked away in a commando fashion.
The state APC Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
Nwauju stated, “He was abducted from his polling unit during the voting process and taken away.
“Nobody knew where they took him to. It was later yesterday evening (Saturday) that his body was discovered. He was the APC LGA caretaker chairman and a PhD student at the Rivers State University.”
Late Lennard’s body was found in a pool of blood and riddled with bullets along the Ibueahi-Ubeta road in Ahoada West LGA of the state.
The late APC chieftain was an estate surveyor and a former board member of the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority during the tenure of Rotimi Amaechi.
When contacted, spokesperson for the state Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she woumd contact the Ahoada Area command on the incident and get back to our correspondent.
Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, had yet to make comments as of the time of filing this report.
ICPC Arrests Four Party Agents For Buying Votes, Recovers Naira
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has arrested four political party agents for vote-buying in Sokoto and Katsina states during the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
This was contained in a statement by ICPC spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, on Saturday night, adding that the agents were caught with both Naira and CFA notes.
According to her, ICPC in its election monitoring operations across the country, officers of the anti-corruption agency encountered some vote-buyers at Kauran Miyo Primary School in Bodingo town of Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The Sokoto State Monitoring Team of the Commission arrested three male vote-buyers – Mahe Bello, Musa Adamu and Mustapha Mohammed, all of Kauran Miyo Bodinga.
The statement revealed that Mahe Bello was caught in possession of a cash sum of N38,000, two PVCs, one ATM card and an Infinix phone while Musa Adamu had CFA 228,000 in his possession which was being offered to voters. The third suspect, Mustapha Mohammed, was arrested with some PVCs in his possession.
While carrying out the arrest of the three vote-buyers, Ogugua said the ICPC Monitoring Team came under attack and an officer of the Commission, Rabiu Ibrahim, suffered a head injury from being hit with stones. She added that he had been admitted to a hospital and he is in a stable condition.
Tinubu’s campaign spokesman warns Igbo against ‘interfering’ in Lagos politics
Bayo Onanuga, a spokesperson for the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, on Saturday night, warned Igbo in Lagos against “interfering” in politics in the state.
Onanuga, who is the director of media and publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, issued the warning in a tweet his official Twitter account, @aonanuga1956.
He said, “Let 2023 be the last time of Igbo interference in Lagos politics. Let there be no repeat in 2027. Lagos is like Anambra, Imo, any Nigerian state. It is not No Man’s Land, not Federal Capital Territory. It is Yoruba land. Mind your business.”
The PUNCH reports that the days before the conduct of the governorship election in Lagos were marred with ethnic tensions.
Dogara loses local govt to PDP
Immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has lost his Local Government Area, Bogoro to the gubernatorial candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, the incumbent Governor of Bauchi State.
Official results declared by INEC revealed that the PDP and its gubernatorial candidate polled a total of 16,598 votes to defeat the APC and its gubernatorial candidate polled a total of 10,436 votes.
Also, for the Bogoro State Assembly Constituency result, the PDP and its candidate, Musa Nagwada polled a total of 13,934 votes to APC and its candidate Bulus Iliya, a former Legislative aide to Yakubu Dogara who polled a total of 12,887 votes.
As soon as the results were announced, it was Jubilation activated as Hon Markus Bitrus Lusa led hundreds to the residence of former Executive Secretary of TETFund, Prof Sulaiman E Bogoro who described the victory as sweet.
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