Presidential polls: How election was rigged for Jonathan –CPC

Posted by admin CPC (Congress 4 Progressive Change), Elections 2011, Latest Politics, Party Politics Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has given a blow-by-blow account of how the April 16 presidential election was rigged in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In his evidence in chief at the presidential election tribunal, Acting National Secretary of the party,. Buba Galadima, an engineer, revealed how excess ballot papers printed by a local printing company, Tulip Press Limited, were used to inflate the scores of President Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential elections in the South-south and South-east regions of the country.

In addition, he told the tribunal, headed by Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs that the votes recorded in favour of President Jonathan, his Deputy, Namadi Sambo and the PDP were products of multiple thumb printing by few individuals who unlawfully gained access to the many ballot papers in favour of the PDP’s logo (5th respondent) on the ballot papers to give an undue advantage to the 3rd respondent (President Jonathan).

He added that in spite of the low turnout of voters in many states of the federation Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) still went ahead to score President Jonathan with over 95 per cent of the total votes cast in many states of the federation.

According to Galadima, “INEC had claimed in many fora prior to the election that the contract for the supply of sensitive electoral materials such as ballot papers was awarded to a foreign company for security reasons.
“That the claim of INEC, 2nd respondent, was widely reported in the print and electronic media in the country.
“That the Chairman of INEC, Attahiru Jega (2nd respondent) also made this declaration when he addressed a meeting of the leadership of political parties in the country in preparation for the election in the country on steps he had taken to ensure a free, fair and credible elections in the country,” he added.

Galadima further averred that; “the election was originally to begin on April 6, 2011 but was postponed by Jega on the ground that the foreign contractor was unable to meet the deadline. The postponement of the election was deliberate and intentional when voting had commenced in most parts of the strongholds of the petitioner thereby giving the 3rd 4th and 5th respondents (President Jonathan, Vice President Sambo and the PDP) an opportunity to study the voting pattern of the electorate with a view to taking neutralizing measures.”

“But INEC and Jega attributed the postponement to inability of the contractor to airlift election materials on time due to the civil war in Libya and the Tsunami disaster in Japan even when Jega had in less than 24 hours to the election addressed the nation and assured it of adequate preparations for the election and that the sensitive materials were already in the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” he added.

The CPC scribe further stated that: “It was later discovered that the statement of Jega that the contract for the supply of sensitive electoral materials such as ballot papers was false, misleading and calculated to deceive Nigerians including the petitioner. I know for a fact that the contract was awarded to local companies owned by stalwarts/agents and members of the PDP that eventually took unilateral responsibility of distributing election materials with the exclusive collision of INEC and Jega while the petitioner was excluded.
“That one of the contractors was Tulip Press Limited which belongs to leading members of the PDP and that on or about April 10, 2011 two men, Messers Akinolu Akinto and Habila Stephen were caught with a van loaded with about 100, 000 ballot papers for the presidential elections scheduled for April 16, 2011 by the police in Abuja.

“That on investigation by the police, it was found that the ballot papers were printed by a printing press belonging to Tulip Press Limited belonging to one Bello Gwandu, a former managing director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and a staunch member of the PDP,” he stated.

Galadima noted that; “on thorough search of the printing press, additional one million copies of the ballot papers meant for the presidential elections scheduled for April 16, 2011 were found. About 12 people were arrested by the police and were kept in custody at Utako Police Station. The Divisional Police Officer for Utoko Police Station, Usman Umar told newsmen that the case was transferred to the force headquarters and until this moment the 12 people arrested have not been arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction.
“That I know as a fact that fake papers meant for the presidential elections scheduled for April 16, 2011 in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and other parts of the North-west geo-graphical zone were printed by Tulip Press Limited,” he added.

Galadima further alleged that; “just before the presidential elections of April 16, a lorry load of ballot papers were removed from the stores of INEC to the presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja ostensibly for the viewing of President Jonathan and when INEC was confronted with this fact, it said the matter was under investigation.”
CPC produced five witnesses yesterday including it Deputy National Chairman, Salihu Mustapha (North) and National Publicity, Rotimi Fasaki, who refused to be intimidated by the legal team of INEC, President Jonathan and the PDP.
Hearing on the petition continues today.

-Sunwp_posts