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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Mass presence of govs in off-cycle elections

From The Punch · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan criticized governors and political leaders for undermining democracy by converging in large numbers for off-cycle elections.
  • He highlighted the presence of 17 APC governors and National Assembly members in Osun State, alleging they used their positions and potentially billions of naira to compromise the polls.
  • Jonathan's observations point to a pattern of such

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has sharply criticized the "mass presence" of governors and political leaders at off-cycle elections, arguing that their actions undermine Nigeria's democracy. He specifically rebuked the convergence of 17 All Progressives Congress governors and a contingent from the National Assembly in Osun State for a governorship poll.

governors, party bigwigs and political leaders are undermining Nigeria’s democracy by massing up in states where off-cycle elections are held are weighty.

— Goodluck JonathanFormer President Goodluck Jonathan's observation on the conduct of political leaders during off-cycle elections.

Jonathan alleged that these leaders "weaponized the election," abandoning their own states' pressing issues to attend what he described as a "jamboree." Their presence, he suggested, fueled viral allegations of them bringing billions of naira to compromise the election, a claim he deemed "not unreasonable" given the vote-buying observed during the Osun election. This conduct, he stated, breaches the Electoral Act.

Similar "invasions" were noted in Ekiti and Ondo states. The article recounts a public spat between governors Hope Uzodimma and Monday Okpebholo, and Osun officials, including the governor's nephew, the musician Davido. The situation escalated when Davido posted the governor's alleged school certificate result online after receiving insults.

they weaponised the election.

Describing the impact of governors' presence at the Osun election.

While by-elections are common globally, the article contrasts Nigeria's situation with practices in the United States and the UK, where such "invasion-like presence" of governors does not occur. Off-cycle governorship elections were introduced in Nigeria to ensure credible polls after court-overturned results, but their current execution is questioned. The article criticizes governors for allegedly wasting state development funds on elections unrelated to their own states.

Are these governors jobless?

Questioning the governors' priorities for attending the Osun election.

It concludes by noting the governors reportedly left Osun "in the middle of the night" after their candidate lost, facing public jeers and accusations of theft. This is presented as shameful, especially considering pressing national issues like budget padding, insecurity, and incomplete police reform.

With the vote-buying that marked the election, this allegation is not unreasonable.

Commenting on the allegations of governors compromising the Osun election.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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