NIGERIA: KOGI STATE PREPARES FOR BY-ELECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000485 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ASEC NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: KOGI STATE PREPARES FOR BY-ELECTION AMIDST CONCERNS OF VIOLENCE Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b & d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Poloffs visited Lokoja, capital of Kogi State March 4-5 to meet with government officials, political activists, and civil society ahead of the state's upcoming March 29 gubernatorial by-election. While the Governor's Chief of Staff and an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official proclaimed that Kogi is peaceful and that preparations for the election are on track, the state Action Congress (AC) Chairman warned of possible violence, and members of a human rights organization expressed concerns about violent clashes between the police and youths in Okene (a town about one hour from Lokoja) and feared that the by-election would be rigged. End Summary. -------------- Government, INEC Assure All is Well -------------- ¶2. (U) Poloffs called on Dr. Bala Haruna, Chief of Staff to acting Governor Clarence Olafemi and previously to Governor Ibrahim Idris (both PDP). (Note: The Court of Appeal annulled Idris' election on February 6 and ordered a by-election. Acting Governor Olafemi has retained all of Idris' cabinet and staff and has publicly pledged to return Idris to office. End Note.) Dr. Haruna explained that most other ranking government officials and PDP activists were unavailable for meetings because they had traveled to Lafia, Nassarawa State for the PDP zonal congress. He welcomed our visit to Kogi and was happy to learn that the Embassy would be returning to observe the state's March 29 by-election. Dr. Haruna was confident that the state was peaceful, election preparations were going well, and that immediate past Governor Ibrahim Idris would win and return to office. ¶3. (SBU) Following INEC policy, Poloffs sent a letter to INEC headquarters in Abuja to request an appointment with the Kogi State Regional Electoral Commissioner (REC - the highest ranking election official in the state). However, Chairman Maurice Iwu officially denied our appointment request on grounds that REC was "too busy" preparing for the by-election to see foreign diplomats. Despite this, Poloffs dropped by the Lokoja INEC office and were able to speak with the head of administration. The INEC official received us with some hostility, and seemed reluctant to discuss the March 29 by-election in any detail. He brushed off any questions about election preparations, offering that the by-election was nothing extraordinary and that INEC had it under control. He gave us no information on accreditation of observers, nomination of candidates or printing of ballots, saying those matters would be handled by headquarters in Abuja. He did explain that INEC staff from other states would be brought in to help run the by-election, so use of ad hoc staff would not be necessary. Poloffs noticed a posted schedule of training for by-election staff, so it appears that some preparations for the March 29 election are underway. -------------- Opposition Warns of Rigging, Violence -------------- ¶4. (C) Mike Adeleye, Kogi State Chairman of the opposition Action Congress party told Poloffs that the AC has agreed to partner with the All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP) and support the ANPP candidate, former Governor Prince Abubakar Audu, in the March 29 election. (Note: Abubakar Audu has governed Kogi twice before, from 1991-1993 under the banner of the Babangida-era National Republican Convention party and from 1999-2003 as ANPP. End Note.) Adeleye was happy about the good cooperation between opposition parties in Kogi and was confident that the voters would choose Audu based on his record. Adeleye noted that "under Audu there was no violence in the state" and complained of routine violence under the PDP administration of the state. According to Adeleye, the Kogi Central Senatorial district is "boiling" due to ongoing conflicts between residents who support the AC and the PDP, especially the "imposed" PDP local government chairmen. He explained that Governor Idris installed acting Local Government Area (LGA) chairmen from the PDP in all of the state's 21 LGAs without holding elections. In March 2007, the court ordered that Kogi must hold LGA elections, but that ABUJA 00000485 002 OF 003 has not happened yet. ¶5. (C) Adeleye explained that the ANPP and AC planned to send their supporters to follow election materials from the INEC office through distribution to polling places and back again and that they would engage in "mandate protection" if necessary. The opposition is encouraging use of camera phones to document irregularities. The AC Chairman complained of bias on the part of most INEC and security officials in the April 2007 general election, and worried that same will happen March 29. In Adeleye's opinion, the State Security Service (SSS) was "more fair" than the police during the general election and he was happy with reports that National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members may be brought in to help administer the election, as youth corps participants were more likely to be unbiased. He also said repeatedly that AC and ANPP would engage in "self help" if the government refused to conduct a fair election. Poloffs believed the chairman's ominous undertone was that the phrases "mandate protection" and "self-help" meant violence would be used if necessary. We also noticed that immediately following his meeting with Poloffs, Adeleye hosted a meeting of all the state AC chairmen from the north-central region to help "strategize for the by-election." This seemed to indicate that ANPP and AC activists from neighboring states may be brought in during the by-election to help with "mandate protection." -------------- Violence in Okene -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Poloffs met with two human rights activists based in Kogi State who explained there has been violence in the Kogi Central Senatorial district for many years due to clashes between the Ebira and Igala tribes and within various Ebira clans. However, the tension has increased and taken on a political tone recently due to the outcome of the April 2007 elections. Kogi Central is inhabited mostly by the Ebira ethnic group, who are predominantly AC members. The Ebira felt that it was their turn to have one of their own, Senator Muhammad Ohiare, elected as Governor; and they have repeatedly clashed with PDP supporters (who were also Ebira) in the area resulting in violence. Both human rights activists, although each supported a different gubernatorial candidate, voiced concern over the possibility of additional violence during the upcoming by-election, as well as attempts of rigging similar to what they observed in April 2007. ¶7. (SBU) When asked about media reports of violence committed by police in the town of Okene in Kogi Central, the human rights activists explained that the clashes were directly related to the Ajaokuta steel plant located outside of Lokoja and the National Iron Ore Mining Company that was built in Okene to supply iron ore to Ajaokuta. The federal government sold the Ajaokuta plant two years ago and its profits have dwindled, resulting in much of the iron ore being exported for low prices. To protest the plant's sale and the surrounding community's resulting economic downturn, some youths in Okene allegedly seized six trailer loads of iron ore. When the police intervened, two youths were killed, prompting the youths to retaliate by killing one police officer and kidnapping another. According to media reports and contacts, the police then went on a rampage burning over 50 buildings and killing at least 20 people. Poloffs drove to Okene and confirm that dozens of buildings, including the police station, and several vehicles had recently been burned. Based on the destruction, which appeared selective because only certain buildings were affected by the fire in a crowded, high-density part of town, Poloffs believed that the reports of 20 deaths seem quite modest. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Comment: From the evidence of destruction we saw in Okene, the recent violence there was serious, resulting in loss of lives and property. However, most of our Lokoja contacts seemed to downplay the incident as police trying to maintain order against unruly youth. While members of the ABUJA 00000485 003 OF 003 local community may have started the cycle of violence, it seemed clear from visiting Okene that the local police used considerable, probably excessive, force against the community. Unfortunately, there is not much hope that the Kogi State gubernatorial by-election will be more free and fair than last April's general election. Indeed, it may be more violent, especially with tensions already running high amongst the Ebira in Okene and the rest of Kogi Central district. We will send a team to Kogi State to observe the March 29 by-election and will report on the outcome. End Comment. SANDERS