Ahead of Saturday’s elections across the nation, an early morning fire has been reported in Anambra State.

AN early morning fire has razed down a police station in Ajalli, Orumba North local government area of Anambra State.

The mystery fire did not also spare patrol vehicles that were parked in the compound of the police station, as two of them were burnt down.

Though the cause of the fire was not immediately ascertained, some resident of the community who preferred to speak on the condition of anonymity said the fire may have been ignited by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, as they had passed by the station, chanting anti-election songs.

The source said the group who passed by the station shortly before dusk were chanting that no election would hold in the entire Biafraland.

But the state  Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Haruna Mohammed who spoke to journalists said it is a case of a mere fire incident, and the police command would have no reason to suspect the attack, except investigation, proves so.

He said, “It’s a case of Fire incident for now until Contrary is proved through discreet investigation.

“The Commissioner of Police CP Mustapha Dandaura is presently at the scene for on the spot assessment.

“He ordered the DC Department of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to conduct a thorough investigation in order to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident please.”

Meanwhile, the attempt to reach the spokesperson of the IPOB, Mr. Emma Powerful for reaction failed. Powerful who returned the call made by our reporter to him demanded details of the burnt station and promised to reach back to us.

Source: Tribune

 

 

How The States Stand For Elections

Osun

In Osun, the camps of President Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar are not leaving anything to chance. Findings by the Nigerian Tribune indicate that scramble for the votes of 1, 260, 748 eligible voters, who collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) has become more fierce with electioneering assuming a frenetic trend in each of the 30 local government areas in the state.

There is the feeling that the state is presenting a battleground status as the general belief is that whoever will win the state cannot score a wide margin. Whereas the state has been under the control of APC for more than eight years now, the mass appeal of the PDP candidate is a matter for concern. He is an in-law of the state and has always leveraged on the contact of his first wife, Titi, to gain Osun’s support.

It is believed that the social investment policy of President Buhari’s administration, among which is N-Power and Trader Moni may influence some voters. However, there are some political stalwarts in both APC and PDP whose influence and reach can shore up the chances of the presidential candidates in their constituencies and senatorial districts. For instance in Osun East Senatorial District, the immediate past governor of the state, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, would use his influence to get more votes for Buhari in that axis. The same thing goes for the former deputy governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who hails from Ile-Ife, which also constitutes part of Osun East Senatorial District.

The last July governorship election in the state would also be re-enacted in the state, though in a different form. Both the APC and the PDP candidates in the election, Gboyega Oyetola and Adeleke, respectively, scored 255, 000 votes, with the eventual winner, Oyetola, having just a 300-vote lead above his major challenger in the election. Undoubtedly, the two candidates would want to deliver to their respective parties on Saturday.

But the same cannot be said about Omisore who was then the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He scored 128,000 votes in the election, but the majority of his votes came from civil servants, pensioners, retirees and the elite in the state who were not happy with the APC administration in the state, but were also not favourably disposed to casting their votes for Adeleke because of the certificate scandal that rocked his candidacy for the election. Now, that Omisore has moved to APC, it remains to be seen if he can deliver his 128,000 votes to Buhari in Saturday’s election.

In the same election, the former Secretary to the Osun State Government, Adeoti, contested as the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), in protest against his treatment and alleged marginalisation in the APC primary. He was able to gather about 50, 000 votes in the election. Though, not yet formally back in the APC fold, it is most likely that he would want to deliver his votes for the APC presidential candidate on Saturday.

In the same vein, Fatai Akinbade, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the Osun State governorship election, scored 7,80o votes. Undoubtedly, Akinbade, an influential member of PDP in the state before the 2018 election, would seek to work and deliver for the PDP presidential candidate, rather than Buhari, at the poll on Saturday. The action and stand of the three politicians would have a direct bearing on the outcome of the election.

For PDP, its senatorial candidate for Osun East Senatorial District, Prince Francis Fadahunsi, would definitely spare no efforts to explore his acceptability to boost the chance of Atiku in the Ife/Ijesa zone. Already, he had stepped up his campaign in the communities located within the axis for his senatorial ambition and the election of the party’s presidential candidate.

In Osun West Senatorial District, the incumbent Senator Ademola Adeleke has been utilising the political dynasty of the Adelekes to drum support for Atiku Abubakar. But the former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Honourable Adejare Bello, a former PDP chieftain, is creating a balance in that axis.

 

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