Headlines

Diri trades tackles with opposition over Bayelsa LG poll

Published

1 week ago

24 April 2024

Diri trades tackles with opposition over Bayelsa LG poll

Allegation of predetermined outcome taints the just-conducted Bayelsa State Local Government Area election as the opposition party boycotts the process, writes DANIELS IGONI

IN Nigeria, the local government system is the tier of government closest to the people living in rural areas. Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, says, “The system of local government by democratically elected Local Government Councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every State shall, subject to Section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.”

Despite its place guaranteed in the Constitution, election at the third tier of government has, however, not been a regular civic activity in most states of the country. Whenever a Local Government poll takes place in any state, the ruling political party sweeps the election, with the opposition accusing the ruling party of hijacking and manipulating the process. Such is the scenario that played out in Bayelsa State, where the people headed to the poll on April 6, 2024, to elect chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors for the eight local government councils and the 105 wards in the state.

Apart from the challenges of voter apathy and the late arrival of voting materials and personnel of the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission at polling units across the councils, controversy keeps trailing the process and its outcome. The major opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, stayed away from the poll, claiming that the outcome had been predetermined by the state government.

For the Governor Douye Diri administration, this is the first time conducting the council poll. The last council election held in Bayelsa State was in August 2019, during the tenure of Diri’s predecessor, Senator Seriake Dickson. In that balloting, the Peoples Democratic Party won all chairmanship seats and all the councillorship positions as the APC boycotted the poll as with the last election held on April 6, 2024.

After the tenure of those elected council officials expired in August 2022, Diri promptly dissolved them and for about one year, the councils were run without substantive political leadership. The caretaker committees were inaugurated for the eight councils in July 2023, four months before the November 11 governorship poll which he won for a second term in office as governor of the state.

Like in 2019, the PDP swept the 2024 poll, winning all eight council seats and the 105 wards, even as the APC, again, shunned the electoral process and refused to field any candidates.

Although the Labour Party fielded candidates for the election, the party’s governorship candidate for the 2023 general election, Udengs Eradiri, faulted the process. Eradiri described the poll as undemocratic and shameful, saying the entire civic exercise “was fraught with high-handedness, corrupt practices and other irregularities with results already predetermined by the state government.”

He said it was not surprising members of the ruling PDP were all over the streets boasting publicly that the results of the poll, which was yet to be held at the time, had been written to allow only the candidates of their party to clinch all positions.

Eradiri, a former Commissioner for Youth, and later Commissioner for Environment in the state, said the governor had allowed everything he complained about before the last governorship election in the state to characterise the LG poll.

“From a compromised Bayelsa State [Independent] Electoral Commission to a process designed to favour only the ruling PDP, the local government electoral process in Bayelsa State is laughable, non-competitive and undemocratic and will surely become a scam, a sham and a charade,” he said.

The former president of Ijaw Youth Council said it was hypocritical for Diri to advocate for reforms at the Independent National Electoral Commission whenever his party, the PDP, was not in control at the centre but failed to initiate similar electoral reforms for LG poll in Bayelsa State.

He urged the National Assembly to amend the law establishing local government administration to allow the INEC to conduct elections for the third tier of government also.

Eradiri said, “Until the people are allowed to freely elect their leaders at the grassroots, the local government system will continue to serve only the interests of governors and not those of the people. And until local government is restructured to play its functions, the growth and development of this country will continue to slow down.”

Also, the LP chairmanship candidate for Sagbama LGA, Timi Ogosi, alleged that the LG poll was marred by irregularities, alleging that the entire electoral process was hijacked by agents of the PDP with the aid of the police in his council area.

He then threatened to seek redress in the court of law.

Ogosi said, “I want to describe the situation as very poor. Some people are trying to take our state backwards. When I saw the electoral materials being brought, it was as if some persons were hired to come and do rehearsal. They were aided by the Nigeria Police personnel because all the electoral materials were kept in their custody, and all the electoral materials were handed to the PDP people by the police who escorted them in their vehicles. They took it to their various comfort zones to thumbprint.

“From the police station, they came with private vehicles and they started sharing electoral materials. The electoral materials, according to them, were being escorted to various wards but the electoral materials did not get to the wards.

”The only place they tried to play fair was Ward 10 where I come from, even though there was no voting. In fact, in all the polling units there were no ballot boxes, no stamps, no (ink) pads, no results sheets.

“You can’t call that an election. I’m not satisfied with it and will seek redress in court. Some persons will be petitioned for irregularities, for aiding this malpractice; and which must stop in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Efforts to get the reaction of the state Police Command failed as the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Musa, did not respond to inquiries, despite several reminders and repeated calls.

Governor Diri, on the election day, voted alongside his wife, Gloria at the Kalamaowei Wari Unit 4, Ward 6 in Sampou community, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area did not see any wrongdoing in the conduct of the poll, as he expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct across the state.

The governor also applauded BYSIEC for organising a credible LG poll.

Fielding questions from journalists, Governor Diri boasted that the PDP was the only party with wide acceptance and vigorously campaigned across the state ahead of the election.

He said, “PDP enjoys the support of the people and, judging from the outcome of the November 11, 2023 governorship election, our party will still take the upper hand.”

Speaking on why the APC in the state did not participate in the election, Diri stated that only the faction led by Dennis Otiotio under the control of Timipre Sylva boycotted the poll and that the party had more than one faction.

“I don’t know their (APC’s) own reason for boycotting the election. I don’t know the irregularity it means to the APC of Sylva. Now, let me differentiate what you are talking about. In Bayelsa State today, we have a Timipre Sylva APC led by one (Dennis) Otiotio and you also have the other APC that have never seen and believed the Timipre Sylva-Otiotio-led APC. This election was boycotted by the Timipre Sylva and Otiotio-led APC. So, whatever is defined and described as irregularity is best known to the faction, I don’t know.”

Similarly, the Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said the opposition APC could not match the PDP in the state, a reason, he said, the party refused to participate in the poll.

The deputy governor, who reiterated that the process was fair and transparent, lauded the BYSIEC for not closing its doors to the APC.

Ewhrudjakpo said, “There are people who don’t have the capacity to do an election, and they pretend to have it. They can’t withstand the PDP in Bayelsa, not even the APC. And the APC knows this, that’s why they stayed away from this election. So, the process was transparent, every party was carried along by the BYSIEC and so were their candidates and councillors.”

The Commissioner in charge of Media and Publicity at the BYSIEC, Elliot Osomu, dismissed the allegation of the APC, labelling it as false.

Osomu, who said it was wrong for the party to decide not to participate in the poll and then turn around to engage in spreading falsehood, exonerated the commission from the allegation of pre-determining the outcome of the poll.

He said, “That allegation is totally false. What are they (APC) talking about? They didn’t even participate in the election. How can you predetermine the outcome of an election? They decided not to participate in the election, and now they are going about saying the outcome was predetermined. That’s an absolute falsehood.”

The representative of the election monitoring group, YIAGA Africa, Tari Amananagha, observed that the non-participation of major opposition parties was not good for the process, and unhealthy for democracy.

She described the local government system as the closest government to the people, noting that election at the third tier of government was supposed to be the breeding ground for political actors to test their popularity and grow politically, through the contest for public office.

Amananagha said, “So, the fact that some political parties did not participate in the LG election is not a good one. It is not healthy for democracy, because the participation of parties, especially the major opposition, is important.

“If you don’t engage the process, you will not be able to ask questions on whatever you feel is not right with the process. We also observed that in the build-up to the election, there were no campaigns by other political parties on social media, but one party alone, which also went out to campaign at the local government level. I feel that the more the opposition shies away from engaging the process, the more they also give room for us not to have a comprehensive election.

“And this creates room for the ruling party to sweep chairmanship and councillorship seats. If the opposition participated in the election, there could have been questions for BYSIEC: where is your by-law? Where are your guidelines? How do you conduct the LG election? If the opposition had done this, BYSIEC, no matter who is appointed as its head, would also ensure that it sticks to the by-laws and guidelines of the commission.

“However, it is not the first time the major opposition in the state has shied away from the LG election and this is because they feel that the government of the day is the ruling party, and it was going to be a waste of time to engage in the contest. As a way forward, the opposition should engage BYSIEC one year before the LG poll and follow up the procedures.”

The YIAGA Africa official stressed the need for political parties in the state to engage in the real contest at the local government level, to deepen democracy and participation among the people in the government that is closest to them.

Headlines

NNPC, marketers in war of words over fuel scarcity

Published

13 hours ago

4 May 2024

Agency News

NNPC, marketers in war of words over fuel scarcity

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation has blamed the lingering fuel scarcity in the country on panic buying and sharp practices by some petroleum marketers who are exploiting the present situation to make more money.

The company also vowed that the fuel queues across the country would end next week, noting that it had enough litres of fuel to end the scarcity.

Petroleum marketers, however, disagreed with the position of the NNPC, insisting that inadequate supply was a major reason for the persisting fuel scarcity.

Recall that on Tuesday, the NNPC spokesperson, Femi Soneye, assured that the ongoing shortage in supply of petroleum products and queues for the products would be cleared by May 1.

According to him, the company had more than 1.5 billion litres of petroleum products available, enough to last for at least 30 days. He added that some individuals might be exploiting the situation to maximise profit.

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria had in a statement said its members in Apapa and other locations in Lagos had received 300 million litres of fuel from eight vessels this week.

This was after the South-West Regional Coordinator of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Ayo Cardoso, also confirmed to The PUNCH that aside from the 240 million litres offloaded at various depots on Monday, close to 85 million litres of petrol was offloaded as of Tuesday evening.

Cardoso stated that the government was doing its best to ensure massive distribution of PMS, adding that the product would soon be available across the country.

According to him, each state of the federation had its allocations, saying the same will be delivered to reduce the queues at filling stations.

“As I said earlier, there will be enough fuel across Nigeria soon. We have received over 300 million litres as of Tuesday. More have arrived as we speak, but I can’t give you the figure. Vessels will keep arriving in Nigeria for 15 days, which started counting on Monday, and we will keep distributing the product across the nation.

“The masses should not panic; all these will soon vanish. We are not prioritising anywhere, each state has its allocation to be delivered accordingly,” Cardoso stated.

In the last few days, the queues and shortage of petroleum products worsened the living conditions of most Nigerians as they struggled to get the product.

Roads were deserted while some individuals parked their vehicles at various filling stations pending the availability of petrol.

Hoarding of the product had also been on the increase, as some took advantage of the situation.

Concerned, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) called on security agencies to pick up hoarders of PMS.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the spokesperson of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, explained that the oil firm currently had about three billion litres of petrol, as he blamed oil marketers and panic buying for the lingering queues.

“The queues are clearing. They won’t just clear like that, because people are trying to hoard, while others are buying what they don’t need. That is why we keep saying there is enough product; there is no need to buy what you don’t need.

“Also, you can’t exclude the marketers in this, as they want to use this opportunity to make more money. These are the issues, which is why we have involved the NMDPRA, because it is their duty to ensure that the right thing is done by these filling stations.

“Our job is to provide the product and we’ve told you that we have over 1.5 billion litres available. So, the NMDPRA should please do something about the distribution. It is not our job. We are not the regulator, and we don’t have power to sanction the filling stations that are not doing what they are supposed to do.”

Soneye said the NNPC had increased the volume of petrol in Nigeria and insisted that distribution by marketers was now the concern.

Stop blaming us for scarcity – Marketers to NNPC

Marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have, however, told the NNPC not to blame them for the queues in filling stations, saying they were not involved in sharp practices.

The National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, wondered how the NNPC could shift the blame to marketers, who were not the importers of petrol.

Fashola said marketers could only hoard an available product, recalling how IPMAN had assisted in clearing off the queues in filling stations.

“That is far from the truth. You can only divert the product that you have. You don’t divert what you don’t have.

“On the issue of pricing, we are in a regime of partial deregulation. If you noticed, even before this crisis, we had different prices everywhere. That is another issue that cannot stand.

“On the issue of hoarding, you cannot hoard what you don’t have. It is not even making sense when you have fuel at this critical period, then you say you want to hoard it. So, that is not true too,” he said.

Asked if the marketers were now getting the product from the NNPC, the IPMAN leader said, “Let me use this opportunity to commend the NNPC, despite the fact that they want to put the blame on us. I think they’re trying their best to put the situation under control”.

Fashola added that independent marketers did not engage in sharp practices.

“We have already set up a task force within the IPMAN to make sure our people play according to the rules and regulations. We are a very disciplined organisation. We don’t do any sharp practices; we don’t condone that.

“If you remember, last week they told us it was a logistic problem, and we know what that means. So, why are they blaming marketers for the scarcity? We are not the importer, we are not in charge of shipment; we are not their clearing agent. We don’t even own our own depot. So, how can they blame us for that?” he asked.

Also responding to the NNPC’s allegations, the National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, debunked claims that the oil marketers were responsible for the persistent fuel scarcity.

Ukadike, speaking in a telephone interview on Friday night, stated that marketers established their businesses solely for profit and returns on investment, and would not create artificial scarcity, adding that the heavy capital and incurred bank charges did not allow for hoarding of the petroleum product.

He said, “We are the last in the distribution chain of supply. We break the box of NNPC, and as I am talking to you, IPMAN has over 20,000 filling stations scattered in the nooks and crannies of this country. We established our businesses to be able to maximise profit and have a return on investment.

“There is no sharp practice at all. Anytime there is inadequate supply of petroleum products, you would find out that independent marketers advertise and even go as far as washing vehicles’ tyres and windscreens and instructing our pump attendants to sell petroleum products, because we believe in turnover. The kind of money we are using to buy products, around N40m, is too huge for someone to hoard. We even incur bank charges.

“There is no way we can hoard products. Once they are given to us, we sell them as quickly as possible.

He added, “We are ready to sell for 24 hours if security is provided for us and financial support is also given to us. As an official, I can tell you that we are not involved in any sharp practice. Once petroleum gets to us, we will sell to consumers, because we interface with them and we know how it feels when product is scarce.”

The official further called on security agencies to wade off street urchins profiteering from the scarcity.

“I won’t also say that there are no people, such as street urchins, who take advantage of the situation to engage in sharp practices, using their vehicles to buy petroleum product and then distribute to jerry cans for profiteering. We are aware of those issues, and the national president of IPMAN has advised that marketers should involve security agencies to wade off all those persons standing in front of their filling stations.”

Also speaking to Saturday PUNCH, the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, said even though sharp practices existed within the oil sector, it should not be blamed majorly for the fuel scarcity in the country.

He said, “There are many reasons. I don’t doubt that some sharp practices are going on, but it is too simplistic to say that is the cause of the scarcity. So, I don’t believe that they (NNPCL) will say that.”

“I do not believe they said so. I do not doubt that there may be some sharp practices here and there, but I do not believe the NNPCL would say so.”

Explaining the cause of the scarcity, he said, “I have said it is logistic challenges. There are many other problems, but the immediate cause can be classified under logistic challenges.”

To solve the prevailing fuel scarcity, he said the government should “flood the markets with the products.”

“If you wake up and they say there is no product in Nigeria, then you can call or hold NNPC responsible. But now, the custodian of the stock is the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and they have not said that we don’t have products. When Nigerians should hold us responsible is when there is no product. But, there is product in excess.

“The 1.5 billion litres we said about four days ago has increased, because we’ve added more vessels and we are going to make almost three billion litres available. So, distribution should be looked into by the NMDPRA.

“When the regulator sanctions some stations, it will make others sit up and do the right thing. But, as NNPC, we don’t have the power to sanction any station,” Soneye stated.