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  • How Politicians Gave N500 To Each Resident In Bauchi State Community To Mobilise Them To Obtain PVCs

    Yakubu Mohammed, Wikkitimes

    A one-day trip to Gamawa to collect Permanent Voters Card (PVC) is a luxury that Musa Yunusa, a resident of Kadi-Kadi community in Gamawa local government area of Bauchi State, could not afford despite his willingness to vote in the 2023 polls.

    He makes an average of N500 daily from firewood.

    Left with no means to reach Gamawa, Yunusa becomes desperate to grasp any chance that knocks at his door.

    WikkiTimes gathered that traditional rulers in the area sought help from politicians to help Yunusa and others to get their voter cards.

    “They gave us money and other welfare packages to mobilise people for PVC collection,” Abdullahi Saleh, Mai Anguwan Dole said, stressing that he had no idea of how their senior traditional rulers were able to source the resources being disbursed.

    WikkiTimes gathered that political candidates and political parties partnered with traditional rulers in Gamawa to facilitate PVC registration for residents of remote villages in the area. They deployed different strategies to get prospective voters to pick up their voter cards.

    Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu Kesa, the PDP’s Deputy Chairman of Gamawa Local Government Area, said he was satisfied with what the party did in the area to sponsor potential voters to register with INEC.

    “I cannot tell you all the strategies we used to influence the people of Gamawa to acquire their PVCs. Sometimes we give money,” he said.

    For Bello Sarki Jadori who represents Gamawa at the State House of Assembly, WikkiTimes reliably gathered that he sponsored a social media team of three young and agile men who visit remote communities to enrol potential voters’ personal data into the INEC PVC registration portal before completing physical registration at the INEC office in Gamawa later in the day.

    On average, the team, led by Usman Alhaji Bundujaru, captured between 50 and 60 people daily. The team went to four different communities twice each.

    “Hon Jadori supported our people in rural communities of Gamawa local government with transportation fares and other logistics to visit the Gamawa INEC office to complete their voter registration,” said Musa Umar, a resident of Gamawa.

    While this may appear to be a call to national duty from a neutral standpoint, the politicians and their political parties have a different agenda. They want to use this to gain cheap and undue acceptance from voters.

    IN NINGI, CANDIDATES SPONSOR RURAL DWELLERS TO REGISTER FOR PVC

    Aspirants in Ningi local government area of Bauchi State paid residents of rural communities in the area an average of N500 daily stipend to register and get their PVCs, WikkiTimes reliably gathered.

    Nazif Abdullahi Rio, Chairman of Abdul Ningi Ambassadors said they expended over N1,000,000 to get people from the area registered as voters.

    Abdullahi said, “We gave N500 to some rural dwellers as motivation before the concert to register with INEC. Most of them needed that kind of support before they could register.”

    Ibrahim Gom, a prospective voter in Ningi who is worried about the deceptive tendencies of political candidates, said the average voter easily identified with people who offered them assistance; hence, candidates who assisted prospective voters to register and collect their voter cards after registration are more likely to have voters’ sympathy during the election than those who did not.

    He said despite the assistance they received while making registration with INEC, their PVCs are safe with them, stressing that “we don’t give any data about our PVCs to anybody no matter what, but we are open to aligning with anybody who aligns with our interest.”

    Dr. Hamid Adamu Muhammad, a lecturer with the Department of Mass Communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi observed that in an ideal democratic setting, aspirants jostling for various elective positions present themselves to the electorate without offering unnecessary assistance.

    “The context is the overall perception of politics, standing for election, and voting in Nigeria. This is a normal thing in the Nigerian context – politicians do not see themselves fit for any elective position they aspire for if they don’t spend money,” Muhammad said.

    “So, they will be looking for the slightest opportunity to make themselves look like good Samaritans to the voters,” he added.

    “There is a close correlation between helping somebody secure the PVC and him or her voting for you,” Muhammad continued. “Sometimes somebody may just feel guilty. This politician is the one who helped me get this card; how can I use the same card to vote for someone else rather than him.”

     

    This report was published with support from Civic Media Lab.

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  • Reverse Unlawful Electricity Tariff Hike, SERAP tells Buhari

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “direct the Minister of Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, and the Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Professor James Momoh to immediately reverse the unlawful, unjust and unreasonable increase in electricity tariff, which reportedly occurred in December 2022.”

    SERAP also urged him to “ensure the investigation of the spending of public funds as ‘investments and bailouts’ by successive governments to electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and generating companies (GenCos) since 2005, and prosecution of cases of corruption and mismanagement.”

    Following reported approval by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), electricity tariffs were increased across DisCos in the country in December 2022. Several prepaid customers have reportedly confirmed the increase. Both the Minister of Power and NERC have refused to confirm or deny the increase.

    In the letter dated 7 January, 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The increase in electricity tariff would exacerbate the extreme poverty across the country, and undermine the ability of millions of Nigerians to satisfy basic human needs.”

    SERAP said, “the increase in electricity tariff failed to follow due process. It is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended], the Electric Power Sector Reform Act and the country’s international human rights obligations.”

    According to SERAP, “millions of Nigerians continue to live in darkness despite the spending by successive governments of trillions of naira as investments and bailouts to electricity companies.”

    The letter, read in part: “the increase is unjustified, especially given the unreliable, inefficient and poor quality of electricity in the country. Rather than providing electricity discounts to poor Nigerians, successive governments continue to give bailouts to electricity companies.”

    “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”

    “Your government should have used the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which shows damning revelations that some 133 million Nigerians are poor as a basis to improve access to regular electricity supply, and extend electricity to remote rural households.”

    “The latest increase in electricity tariff is coming on the heels of the NBC report which shows that over half of the population of Nigeria are multidimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than cleaner energy. High deprivations are also apparent nationally in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity, and housing.”

    “Access to regular electricity supply would improve the quality of life of the population.”

    “Electricity is an essential public service but millions of Nigerians continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sector–staying in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills. Electricity supply remains inadequate and irregular.”

    “Regular and uninterrupted access to electricity is a fundamental human right. Your government has legal obligations to ensure that the operations of NERC and electricity companies do not impair the effective enjoyment of the right.”

    “Access to affordable electricity services is a prerequisite for improving the condition of people living in poverty. It is a means to generate other important services that mitigate poverty, bearing in mind that access to electricity facilitates the eradication of poverty.”

    “The hike in tariff would increase financial burdens for socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians and further marginalize and disproportionately affect them, and exacerbate their vulnerability to discrimination.”

    “The failure of successive governments and high-ranking government officials to prevent widespread and systematic corruption in the electricity sector and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice is the primary cause of the exploitation of electricity consumers.”

    “Investigating the spending of investments and bailouts by successive governments in DISCOS and prosecuting anyone suspected of corruption and mismanagement of public funds, and recovering any proceeds of crime would end a culture of impunity in the power sector, and improve access to and affordability of electricity in Nigeria.”

    “Successive governments have failed to increase power generation and provide Nigerians with regular and uninterrupted electricity supply, with many electricity contracts shrouded in secrecy, and trillions of Naira going down the drain.

    “Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended] provides that, ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.’”

    “Under Section 16(1)(a)(b), your government has the obligations to ‘harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy’, and to ‘secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen.’”

    “Nigeria has also ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognize legally enforceable economic and social rights, such as the rights to education, health, safe food and clean water, security, and shelter.”

    “Your government also has legal obligations to ensure that socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians including the 133 million the NBC documents as poor enjoy non-discriminatory access to basic household services including electricity.”

    “Under Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria dealing with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, high-level public officials have a clear obligation to ‘eradicate all corrupt practices and abuse of power.  Furthermore, the constitution prohibits the exploitation of Nigeria’s human and natural resources for any reasons other than for the good of the community.”

    “Articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on your government to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds, and to promote sound and transparent administration of public affairs.”

    “The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has adjudged the failure of the States to provide basic services such as electricity as violating the right to health.”

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