Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike has defended the inclusion of an individual under Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigation on President Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign team.

Wike argued that being probed does not prevent a person from canvassing votes

He stated this during a media parley he hosted on Wednesday, which was aired on Channels Television.

The former Rivers State governor questioned what he described as a double standard in scrutinising people involved in political campaigns, noting that a person facing an EFCC investigation but not charged to court could still participate in political activities.

“You (media) were asking the moral justification of putting someone who has an EFCC case to be in a campaign council. And I was just watching the lady. The lady doesn’t even know what to say,” Wike said.

He added, “Now, somebody cannot be in a campaign to canvass for votes for a particular person, but somebody who has an EFCC case can contest an election and win an election?”

Wike said there had been instances where people facing criminal allegations had contested elections and won.

“This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a Governor,” he said without mentioning any name.

Wike further argued that even a person serving a prison sentence could canvass votes for a candidate.

“Listen. Even a prisoner… maybe they have somebody in prison. I go and visit the person. The person can tell me, ‘My brother, I want you to support so-and-so candidate.’ A prisoner has canvassed for vote.”

He also referred to an unnamed person who he said had been alleged to be involved in a coup in Nigeria, saying the person had also canvassed votes for a candidate.

“I was watching, when Channels, when Sunrise, who came up to say, ‘Ah, how can somebody who’s being looked for as a coup plotter is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so government?’ Somebody EFCC is looking for is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so person.

“But… a party, or a candidate cannot, simply because EFCC is investigating the person, cannot be a member of the campaign council to campaign for votes.”

Wike’s comments followed controversy over the inclusion of Edu in the campaign structure for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

Edu was listed as Director of Women Mobilisation in the APC Presidential Campaign Council. She was suspended by Tinubu in January 2024 following allegations of financial impropriety and was subsequently investigated by the EFCC.

An APC campaign council spokesperson, Kemi Asekun-Shittu, had defended Edu’s inclusion during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, saying the former minister had not been found guilty of any offence.

“I’d like to say that for Betta Edu, for example, she has not been found guilty. And it will be unfair to ask that she leaves her life or refuses to live her life until the EFCC declares her. We believe that there is very likely the issue that she may not be found guilty.

“But besides that, we also know that with politics, every Nigerian is allowed to be a politician if they choose to. And we do not believe that we should then hold her life still or keep her stagnant until the case is decided. It’s been almost two years of that case.

“She does deserve an opportunity to present herself again for the party,” she said.

Asekun-Shittu also said the campaign committee was an internal party affair and that the APC could decide who would work for it, while noting that the list was not final and could still be reviewed.

Edu has not been publicly declared guilty of any offence in relation to the EFCC investigation.

Source: punchng.com

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The Borno State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Youth and Sports Development, Sainna Buba, who threatened to “flog” opposition members who do not support the All Progressives Congress, has tendered an apology and retracted the comments.

PUNCH Online had earlier reported that Buba, in a now-circulating video, said, “The government is our government,” adding that whoever follows it will enjoy “the honey.”

He said, “We are now playing politics. Whoever shows us a finger, we will show him a finger. Whoever dares to show us a finger again, we will break his finger.”

“The government is our government. Those who follow us will enjoy the honey; if you refuse, then you will be flogged,” he added.

However, addressing journalists in Maiduguri on Wednesday, the commissioner said the remark was never intended to harm or violate the fundamental rights of the people to freedom of choice and association.

He said, “In recent days, a comment I made during the empowerment programme organised by the City Boy Movement in Maiduguri has generated considerable concern within the public space.

“I wish to state, unequivocally, that my remark was never intended to harm or violate the fundamental rights of the people of our dear state to freedom of choice and association, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),” he noted.

He said he had earlier provided clarification that the comment was not intended to be taken in its literal sense.

“However, in view of the concern it has continued to generate, I am using this medium to retract my earlier statement formally and to apologise to the entire people of Borno State and beyond for any offence it may have caused,” Buba added.

“Let me state in categorical terms that my comment does not in any way represent the ideals of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the administration of His Excellency, Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum,” he stressed.

He further noted that the administration does not in any way undermine the rights of the citizenry.

“Rather, the party and the administration continue to uphold and respect every segment of our society, particularly our youth, who have remained steadfast supporters of both the party and the Zulum administration,” he maintained.

Zulum, he said, and the APC have consistently demonstrated a true democratic spirit over the past seven years, assuring that the commitment will remain unwavering to the very end of his tenure.

Source: punchng.com

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has rejected allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress that it removed the party’s nominated candidates from some State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra and Benue states and replaced them with unauthorised names.

INEC said its records showed that the disputed candidates were listed on Form EC9E submitted to the commission and duly signed by the NDC National Chairman and National Secretary.

Earlier, INEC’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, had said the commission would rely on its electronic and documentary records to establish what happened, stressing that “It is, therefore, possible to establish objectively the history and source of entries relating to any candidate whose name appears on the portal,” Oketola said.

Reaffirming its position on, the commission made the clarification in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.

“As a matter of fact, the Commission has in its possession, Form EC9E where these candidates were listed and submitted to the Commission duly signed by the National Chairman and the National Secretary of the party,” the statement said.

INEC said candidate nomination was the responsibility of political parties and that it had no legal authority to choose, insert or substitute candidates for any party.

“Candidate nomination is, by law, the exclusive responsibility of political parties. INEC has no legal authority to select, insert, or substitute a candidate for any party,” it said.

The commission also distinguished its statutory role of monitoring party primaries from the nomination of candidates, saying oversight of a primary did not give it the power to impose a candidate on a political party.

“Monitoring a party’s primary is a statutory oversight function only and confers no power on INEC to choose or impose a candidate,” INEC said.

The commission said that ahead of the 2027 general elections, all 22 registered political parties had designated two technically trained officers to handle their candidate nomination processes following training organised by INEC.

It said portal access codes were thereafter issued directly and in person to the national chairmen of the parties.

“Ahead of the 2027 election, all 22 registered parties designated two technically trained officers to handle their nomination process, following training organised by the Commission. Thereafter, the portal access codes were issued directly and in person to each party’s National Chairman, and not by proxy,” the statement said.

According to INEC, candidate lists were generated from submissions made by the parties and jointly signed by their national chairmen and national secretaries in the Form EC9 series.

“List of candidates were generated for each party as submitted by the party jointly signed by the National Chairmen and National Secretaries of the party, making the submission in Form EC9 series (A-G),” it said.

The commission consequently rejected the allegation that it independently uploaded or altered the NDC’s candidate information.

“Therefore any claim that the Commission independently uploaded or altered candidate information is unfounded and untrue,” INEC said.

The development followed allegations by the NDC that names of candidates it neither nominated nor authorised had been uploaded and published as its candidates for some State House of Assembly constituencies.

In a report published earlier on, the NDC alleged that INEC had removed candidates nominated by the party and replaced them with names unknown to it.

The party identified several constituencies in Anambra State and said it had observed a similar pattern in other states.

The party’s National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, had called on the INEC chairman to investigate how the disputed names appeared on its candidate list.

“We call on the INEC chairman to urgently and immediately cause an investigation into the matter and unravel how this came to be,” the NDC said.

The party also alleged that the issue extended beyond Anambra to constituencies in Benue and Imo states.

INEC said it remained committed to transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

“The Commission remains committed to transparency, accountability and providing a level playing field for all stakeholders in the electoral process,” the statement said.

Source: punchng.com

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