HELLO

IBADAN, Nigeria Gang members hired by politicians beat an election official and steal ballot papers. Bus loads of thugs harass opposition parties. A bomb detonates without an apparent target. Nigeria's delayed first national election starts Saturday, but already troubles reminiscent of a fatally flawed 2007 vote can be seen across Africa's most populous nation. Coupled with a failed bombing in the north and an attack by a radical Islamic sect Friday, these signs undoubtedly prove worrying for international observers concerned about one of the top crude oil suppliers to the U.S., as well as those who will place their inked fingers to the ballots. "Millions of voters may be disenfranchised by being too scared to go out to cast their votes," recently wrote Kunle Amuwo, an analyst with the International Crisis Group. "Politicians who orchestrate violence must be held accountable and prosecuted. Unless violence is swiftly curtailed and contained, there will be no ba

….Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello,  Bankole on their way out of National Assembly By Kolade Larewaju, Abeokuta EARLY results coming in from polling units after Saturday’s election in Ogun State indicate a sharp lead by the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] across the state with the Peoples Democratic party [PDP] and the Peoples Party of Nigeria [PPN] trailing behind with a huge difference. Results from polling units in former President Olusegun Obasanjo ward 11, indicate that he lost woefully. Indication also emerged that while Senator Iyabo Obasanjo Bello may have lost her seat to Gbenga Obadara of the ACN, the Speaker of the House of Representatives; Mr. Dimeji Bankole may also be on his way out for the ACN candidate; Segun Williams with the early results. At the African Church Grammar School, Ita Iyalode in Abeokuta where the former President and his daughter  Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello voted for the Senatorial election, the ACN polled 167 votes while the PDP polled 64 and PPN; 5 votes. At th

* Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, Bankole on way out * David Mark leads with slight margin * ACN in Benue, Edo in early lead * Oluremi Tinubu in comfortable lead * CPC, PDP in neck on neck in FCT There were indications, as the results of the rescheduled National Assembly  polls trickled in, last night, that the elections may have created upsets in some states. Results from polling units  in Ogun State showed a comfortable lead by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) across the state with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) trailing behind. Results from polling units in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ward  II showed that he lost woefully while his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, who vied in the senatorial segment of the polls in Ogun central, may have lost her seat to Gbenga Obadara of the ACN. The speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Dimeji Bankole, who contested the federal constituency segment in Abeokuta, may also be on his way ou

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo probably had a premonition that he and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would be roundly routed in last Saturday’s election into the National Assembly in Ogun State, by the burgeoning Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which clinched all the three senatorial seats and most of the federal constituencies’ seats in the state. When he was sarcastically asked by a reporter if he was still laughing when he came for accreditation at the Ita-Eko Ward 11 polling booth 1 near his Abeokuta family house at about 11am on election day, Obasanjo calmly answered, “You can’t say everything is a laughing matter the way I said I dey laugh o, because it is a serious matter now”. The election results turned out not to be a laughing matter for Obasanjo, who lost not only in his polling unit but also in his entire ward. His daughter Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello lost her bid to retain the Ogun Central Senatorial seat while the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole