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How PDP and INEC rigged elections for Jonathan - Buhari
Written by elombah.com



The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday began its battle to upturn President Goodluck Jonathan’s victory at the April 16 presidential election. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s party filed a petition before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, just ahead of today’s deadline for submission of petitions. The CPC is asking for the nullification of results in 20 states where it said the election was rigged.
The states where the CPC is alleging substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and other irregularities are: Lagos, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kwara, Adamawa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Enugu and Cross River.
Others are: Rivers, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo Anambra, Benue and Plateau states as well as the FCT.
In the petition anchored on two grounds and filed by Mr. Ebun Shofunde (SAN), Abubakar Malami (SAN) and Alasa Ismail, the CPC is asking the tribunal to set aside the presidential election and organise a fresh election between the CPC and the PDP.
The CPC also urges the tribunal to hold that Jonathan and his running mate, Namadi Sambo, were not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.
The CPC accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of frustrating its efforts to file the petition. It claimed that all entreaties to get sensitive materials to use in arguing its case proved abortive.
In an exparte application filed last Friday, the CPC asked the tribunal to compel INEC to release certain sensitive materials used during the polls to it.
CPC National Chairman Prince Tony Momoh said yesterday in a statement that the party decided to go to the tribunal to point out that lapses observed before and during the elections "were not adequately addressed, if at all".

Meanwhile, elombah.com has obtained copy of the CPC petition to INEC rejecting the result of the presidential election as announced by Jega.

CPC PETITION ON 2011 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

21ST April, 2011
The Chairman
Independent National Electoral Commission
Zambesi Crescent, Maitama District
P. M. B. 0184, Garki
Abuja, FCT.
Dear Sir,

REJECTION OF THE RESULT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

We write further to our letter of objection dated the 18th of April to your good-selves to formally reject the declared result of the presidential election in its entirety because it is as unfair and unjust as it is a subversion of the popular will of the electorate.
In substantiation of the massive irregularities and blatant fraud that marred the credibility of the election, we provide below additional and better information that make it impossible for any legitimate government to be founded on the outcome of the exercise:
1. From BBC World News, 17th April 2011:
To win at the first round, a candidate needs at least 25% of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states. According to regional results, Mr Jonathan has passed that threshold in at least 24 states. He polled 20.3m votes to the 10.4m cast for his nearest rival, General Muhammadu Buhari. In Akwa Ibom state, he was credited with winning 95% percent and in Anambra it was 99%. In his home state, Bayelsa, he took 99.63%. "Figures of 95% and above for one party suggest that these are fabricated figures and, personally, they worry me because they pose serious questions on the credibility of the election," Jibrin Ibrahim of the Centre for Democracy and Development told AFP news agency.”
…………………, BBC World News
2. From Sahara Reporters, New York, 17th April 2011:
Several sources said Anambra had been turned into a free rigging field for the Jonathan ticket. “The police and army have cordoned off polling booths all over Anaocha local government area, and PDP members are thumb printing ballots which INEC officials then sign and drop in as votes,” said a source. He added that agents representing the other parties had been offered bribes that are several times higher than their payments – and most of them were collaborating in the rigging. “There’s no more hope for this country,” said the source.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jonathan, who authorized the widespread rigging, was hypocritically proclaiming that today’s voting was free and free, adding that he had not interfered with officials of INEC.

3. In the PM news edition of April 16th, 2011:

“Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers state, South South Nigeria, has expressed disappointment at the low turnout of voters at his polling unit, which is Ward 8, Unit 14 at Utima, Ikwerre Local Government area, shortly after casting his vote, along with his wife, Judith. The governor who cast his vote at about 12.35pm also lauded the peaceful disposition of Rivers people and the diligence of the security personnel who had little job to do today” …This message came from the Chief Executive of a State where the percentage of voter turnout according to the final result was in excess of 76%!

4. Sample of complaints from accredited agents and members of the public to CPC Election Monitoring Center:
ABUJA
We received calls and text messages that many cars were seen driving out of the house of the FCT minister in 13 Gingiri Street, Garki Area 2 with stuffed ballot boxes…, Some of the text messages were forwarded to INEC’s hotline during the election on Saturday, the 16th of April 2011 – Evidence available on the handsets.
RIVERS
‘I was the first voter to arrive at polling unit and stayed until the ballots
were counted. Based on my observation there was a poor turn-out of voters and I
will estimate total number of voters at 250 - 300 maximum out of about 600 registered voters in the polling unit. I was accredited in 10
minutes (at 9:50am) and I voted in less than 5 minutes (at 2:00pm). This is to let you know how scanty the polling unit was’…This message came from the same state where the Governor had also lamented about low turnout in 3 above and where the percentage of voter turnout according to the final result was in excess of 76% as opposed to about 45% in this polling unit.
CROSS RIVER
‘Blue ink was provided for thumb print in our polling unit. However, when it came to counting, a majority of the PDP ballot papers had black ink as thumb-print.
The entire CPC ballot papers had thumb prints with blue ink as provided. The PO could not provide any explanation’.
ENUGU
‘Our conclusion on what transpired in Enugu State (and indeed the South East Zone) is allocation of votes to the PDP with 802,144 (98.5%) to Goodluck Jonathan and 3,753 (0.5%) to Muhammadu Buhari. Allocating 3,753 votes to CPC is not only ridiculous but goes to suggest that even we members of the party and our families did not vote in that election as we have over 50,000 members and supporters’.
BAYELSA
‘Due to poor turnout of voters in the South South and the connivance of the state and federal governments there was massive rigging to boost the number of votes for PDP, there is need for a thorough investigation of multiple votes to ascertain the actual votes casted in line with one man one vote promised by President Jonathan’.
NASARAWA
‘Shortage of ballot papers -
Duly accredited voters were deprived from voting because of insufficient ballot papers in a lot of polling units such as PU 25/08/07/037 in Lafia’.
GOMBE
‘Hon Magaji Doho in Kwami LGA had been apprehended with ballot papers.
Also in Bajoga, the DPO and INEC electoral officer were caught with ballot papers’.
BAUCHI
1. ‘In Missau and Azare LGA’s, thousands of accredited voters could not vote because of shortage of ballot papers’.
2. ‘There was stuffing of ballot boxes in the house of DR MUSA BABAYO’.
3. ‘In Bogoro LGA, ‘ballot stuffing is ongoing at DR JAMES LANDI’s house’.
JIGAWA
‘In Sule Tankarkar and Gumel Areas, Security Personnel stopped voters from getting to polling stations’.
TARABA
‘In Polling Unit no 007 in Lamurde Primary School, Sarking Dawaki Ward, Jaligo LGA, an INEC Staff was adopted by PDP thugs’.
KADUNA
‘In Sabon Tasha and Narayi both in Chukun LGA, agents of CPC were chased away from polling centers and the ballot boxes snatched by PDP thugs’.
AKWA IBOM
‘Elections were marred with all sorts of rigging imaginable and voter intimidation. Government officials arrived at polling units in company of police men and took ballot papers and ballot boxes away to undisclosed locations and stuff the ballot boxes with PDP votes. If nothing is done to curb this blatant abuse of the law, the guber elections will be an outright war in this State’.
DELTA
‘There were no result forms (Form EC 8a) in the polling unit PU: 10/22/08/002 and other polling units in the entire Uvwie LGA in Delta state. Corp members reported they were told to go back to the Secretariat to write the result.
Result in PU: 10/22/08/010 in Effurun-warri and Uwvie areas was written on a plain sheet. CPC agents protested at the Secretariat but they were ignored by INEC officials’.
5. On the 13th of April 2011, we were tipped off by good Samaritans about buses conveying millions of ballot papers for the Presidential elections from a private printing press - Tulip Press owned by a known PDP stalwart and a former gubernatorial candidate on PDP platform – Mallam Bello Gwandu for distribution to certain states. We promptly alerted the police and two suspects – Messrs Habila Stephen and Akinlolu Akinto were arrested and taken to Utako Police Station for questioning. The incident can be verified from the DPO of the station. Even though INEC subsequently disclosed that the printers were formally engaged by the Commission and the suspects were therefore released, we nonetheless remain concerned as the Chairman of INEC had publicly announced on the 2nd of April 2011 that the elections were being postponed on account of late arrival of election materials from overseas printers and there was clearly no indication then that local printers were engaged in the process. Could these ballot papers and or others printed locally have been the ones used to inflate the votes in favour of PDP?

6. On the 16th of April 2011, when voting for the presidential election was being conducted, we received yet again another tip off, this time from one of our monitoring agents, about a man that approached a polling unit in Wuse Zone 3 whilst carrying a bag suspected to contain election materials. The police officers on duty were alerted and the man was taken to the nearby police station. When questioned, he claimed to be a staff of INEC on duty and telephoned his supervisor for identification as he had no ID Card on him. The supervisor arrived and identified the suspect as an ad-hoc staff and himself as Richard Awolola – the Electoral Officer for AMAC with an INEC ID Card as a staff based in Nasarawa but on temporary assignment in Abuja. The suspect was then asked to empty the contents of his bag and it was found to contain a blank booklet of Form EC8B Presidential Election Collation at Ward level result sheets and another EC8B for the 9th of April National Assembly election; a copy of which is shown below as Exhibit 1.
EXIHIBIT 1:

Some of the pertinent questions from this incident are (1) How come under ‘Votes Received by Parties’ it is only in column 16 for PDP and in rows 11 to 19 that the figures were altered to inflate the number of votes? (2) How many other altered EC8B’s have been integrated into the final result? (3) Why was an ad-hoc staff without any ID card whatsoever in possession of a whole booklet of blank EC8B Presidential election result sheets; more so that Section 45(2) of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) stipulates that ‘the Polling Agents shall be present at the distribution of the election materials from the office to the polling booth’? (4) How many other blank result sheets were in circulation on that day and how many have been incorporated into the final result?
7. TABLE 1: A CASE OF RES IPSA LOQUITUR
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF VOTERS REGISTER AND RESULTS
S/N STATE Electoral Register, A Total Votes, B Percent Turnout, C PDP SHARE, D CPC SHARE, E OTHERS,

1 Ekiti 764,726 262,698 34.35% 135,009 2,689 125,000
2 Lagos 6,108,069 1,943,671 31.8% 1,281,688 189,983 472,000
3 Ogun 1,941,170
546,831 28.2% 309,177 17,654 220,000
4 Ondo 1,616,091
487,266 30.2% 387,376 11,890 88,000
5 Osun 1,293,967
512,406 39.6% 188,409 6,997 317,000
6 Oyo 2,572,140
863,154 33.6% 484,758 2,396 286,000
TOTAL SW 14,296,163 4,616,026 32.96% 2,786,417 321,609 1,508,000

SOUTH-EAST
7 Abia 1,524,484 1,188,727 78% 99%= 1,175,984 3,743 9,000
8 Anambra 2,011,746
1,157,392 57.5% @99@ 99%=1,145,169 4,223 8,000
9 Ebonyi 1,050,534
505,617 48.1% 96%=480,592 1,025 24,000
10 Enugu 1,303,155
813,897 62.5% 99%=802,144 3,753 8,000
11 Imo 1,687,293
1,409,948 83.6% 98%=1,381,357 7,591 21,000
TOTAL SE 7,577,212 5,075,581 65.9% 4,985,246 20,335 70,000

SOUTH-SOUTH
12 Akwa Ibom 1,616,873
1,231,977 76.2% 95%=1,165,629 5,348 61,000
13 Bayelsa 591,870
506,652 85.6% 99.6%=504,811 691 1,150
14 C/River 1,148,486
725,884 63.2% 98%=709,382 4,002 12,500
15 Delta 2,032,191
1,408,811 69.3% 99%=1,378,851 8,960 11,000
16 Edo 1,655,776
619,968 37.4% 87%=542,173 17,795 60,000
17 Rivers 2,429,231
1,854,944 76.4% 98%=1,817,762 13,182 24,000
TOTAL SS 9,474,427 6,348,236 68% 6,118,608 49,978 169,650

NORTH-WEST
18 Jigawa 2,013,974
1,138,246 56.5% 419,252 58.2%=663,994 55,000
19 Kaduna 3,905,387 2,569,423 65.8% 1,190,179 52%=1,334,244 45,000
20 Kano 5,027,297 2,642,209 52.6% 440,666 61%=1,624,543 577,000
21 Katsina 3,126,898
1,638,311 52.4% 428,392 71%=1,163,919 46,000
22 Kebbi 1,638,308
923,651 56.4 369,198 54%=501,453 53,000
23 Sokoto 2,267,509
909,826 40% 309,057 59%=540,769 60,000
24 Zamfara 1,824,316
942,495 51.7% 238,980 66%=624,515 79,000
TOTAL NW 19,803,689 10,764,161 53.6% 3,395,724 6,453,437 915,000

NORTH-EAST
25 Adamawa 1,816,094 909,840 50.01% 508,314 38%= 344,526 57,000
26 Bauchi 2,523,614
1,609,613 63.8% 258,404 82%= 1,315,209 36,000
27 Borno 2,380,957
1,177,828 49.5% 207,075 77%= 909,763 61,000
28 Gombe 1,318,377
755,245 57.3% 290,347 60%= 459,898 5,000
29 Taraba 1,336,221
731,340 54.7% 451,354 35%= 257,986 22,000
30 Yobe 1,373,796
621,665 45.3% 117,128 54%= 337,537 167,000
TOTAL NE 10,749,059 5,805,531 53.4% 1,808,805 3,648,736 348,000

NORTH-CENTRAL
31 Benue 2,390,884
1,048,000 43.9% 694,776 109,680 244,000
32 Kogi 1,316,849
561,017 42.6% 399,816 132,201 29,000
33 Kwara 1,152,361
415,800 36.1% 268,243 83,603 64,000
34 Nasarawa 1,389,308
694,400 49.98% 408,997 278,390 7,000
35 Niger 2,175,421
992,000 45.6% 321,429 625,574 45,000
36 Plateau 2,259,194
1,411,000 62.5% 1,029,865 356,551 25,000
TOTAL NC 10,684,017 5,122,217 46.78% 3,123,126 1,585,999 414,000

FCT-ABUJA
37 FCT 943,473
398,020 42.2% 253,444 131,576 13,000

TOTAL COUNTRY 73,528,040 38,129,772 51.8% 253,444 131,576 13,000

Incontrovertible facts from this Analysis:
1. The national average turnout rate is about 52% and about 46% when the substantially above average turnout rate in the South South and South East zones is excluded. Why?
2. The average turnout rate in the South South and South East zones (without Ebonyi and Edo states) at 78% is 50% above the national average of about 52%. How come?
3. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP got over 85% share of the valid votes cast in all the 11 states in the South South and South East zones, with 10 of the said states at 95% and above including 4 of the states at 99% and 1 at near perfect share of 99.6% in his home state. Thus, all the 11 states in the 2 zones had a red flag for being above the national average turnout rate and/or were above 85% threshold. Do ‘these figures of 95% and above for one party suggest that these are fabricated figures’ as aptly stated in 1 above by the BBC World News reporter, more so that 10 states are affected rather than the 3 states he identified?
4. General Buhari of the CPC (and indeed all other opposition candidates) had no single state with a combination of average turnout rate above the national average and share of valid votes in excess of 85%. Why only Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in NOT one, two or three but nine states?
5. The inevitable reasonable conclusion from the incontrovertible facts in 1 to 4 above is that no credible elections took place in the South South and South East zones and that those returns were basically concocted through fraudulent thumb printing and stuffing of ballot papers and/or that the results were deliberately falsified in favour of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP.

8. In spite of the case of res ipsa loquitur (a thing that speaks for itself) adduced in Table 1 above, additional and specific evidence of massive rigging is to be found in Table 2 below which is a summary of a sample of ward level collation results in Rivers State. The average turnout rate in the sample is 49%; which begs the question as to how the turnout in the declared result for the state metamorphosed into well over 76%?

TABLE 2: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – COLLATION AT WARD LEVEL IN RIVERS STATE
S/N NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS TOTAL VOTES CAST % TURNOUT
0969006284 43,843 18,008 41%
0969006284 14,002 6,170 43%
0969006284 16,068 7,001 44%
0969006267 30,440 15,583 51%
0969006267 11,757 5,829 50%
0969006267 12,301 6,619 54%
0969006220 36,969 21,800 59%
TOTAL 165,380 81,010 49%

Please see Exhibit 2 below for source of data.

EXHIBIT 2:

9. Further to the specific evidence in support of lower voter turnout rate in Rivers State as shown in 8 above, additional concrete evidence in support of manipulated figures in Form EC8B is to be found in Exhibit 3 below in respect of the result for Cross River State. The fuzzy arithmetic contained therein is mind boggling, as the total number of registered voters in the ward at 6,031 transformed into 377,517 total valid votes. This could well have been an innocent error; but yet again, the ultimate beneficiary is Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP as he was awarded about 710,000 (98%) votes out of the total valid votes of 725,884. Does this make for a credible election?
EXHIBIT 3:

10. It is a trite principle that the law does not engage in trivial matters. Such that if the effect of the fabricated figures that had been proved beyond reasonable doubt in the South East and South South would not without more materially affect the final result, it would have been ignored and the declaration of Dr. Jonathan Goodluck as the winner would receive judicial affirmation. This is what makes it imperative to embark on a sensitivity analysis as contained in Table 3 below.

Thus, when the fabricated figures are deducted from the total result, General Muhammadu Buhari has the majority of votes; thereby precluding Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from being declared as the winner of the election. This fundamental principle was founded on the authority of the case of Omoboriowo v Ajasin (1984) SCNLR 1 at pages 108, 152-153 would drive home a nail struck clarification wherein Eso JSC said:- “Finally, once the figures are false, whether the falsification was done by the 2nd appellant or not, the fact remains that 1st appellant cannot and should not be elected on figures other than the majority of the votes cast at the election”; which ratio was applied by the Court of Appeal in the recent cases of Fayemi v Oni – CA/IL/EPT/GOV/1/10 and Aregbesola v Oyinlola – Appeal No: CA/1/EPT/GOV/02/2010.

TABLE 3: SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS ON EFFECT OF RESULTS FROM SS AND SE

Dr. GOODLUCK JONATHAN GEN. MUHAMMADU BUHARI
(A) DECLARED RESULT 22,495,187 12,214,853
(B) LESS VOTES CAST IN SS AND SE ZONES 11,103,854 70,313
(C) TOTAL ADJUSTED RESULT
C = (A-B) 11,391,333 12,144,540

CONCLUSION AND PRAYERS:
In our letter of objection dated the 18th of April, we had appealed that ‘you demand the ballot papers and result sheets as collated from these zones (South East and South South) for scrutiny in the interest of peace, prosperity, free, fair and credible election’ and ‘order for the cancellation of the results handed down from the South South and South East in the event the investigation revealed the alleged breaches’. The appeal was regarded as being impractical and accordingly ignored. The Commission then swiftly proceeded to declare seriously flawed result which can now be seen in the light of this submission to be nothing but a charade. In polling units where elections were held, they were seemingly free, fair and credible. But behind the scene, there were loads of massive fraudulent thumb printing and blatant manipulation of figures at the ward and local government collation centers.
The façade at the polling units must be unmasked for this election to be seen as the sham that it truly was. The integrity of elections is crucial for the survival of our nascent democracy as no legitimate government can be founded on a stolen mandate. We consider the subversion of the popular will to be the worst form of corruption that can befall any nation. It is on the strength of the struggle to save the heart and soul of our fatherland that we submit the following prayers for your urgent attention:
1. Please as a matter of utmost urgency take custody of all the election materials and make the ballot papers in support of the votes cast in the South South and the South East zones available for a representative sample of the thumb prints to be matched with the biometric based voters register by forensic experts. The same examination can be conducted in the North West and North East zones if only for the sake of good order. A sample of the result sheets at the ward and local government collation centers should also be examined by independent third party accountants;
2. If the ballot papers and or figures were found to have been substantially manipulated, the Commission should be bold enough to reverse its position on the declared result if only in the interest of peace and greater public good; and
3. Prosecute to the full extent of the law all those found to have played any significant role in once again bringing the credibility of the Commission into disrepute.

Respectfully submitted,
Yours sincerely,

National Chairman.