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Some Nigerians, especially from the opposition party doubt the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct free and fair elections despite assurances from President Muhammadu Buhari and the commission. The onus is now on them to disappoint their distracters
By Olu Ojewale
PERHAPS, for the umpteenth time, President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have said clearly and loudly that the general elections slated to start with presidential election on February 16, will be free and fair. Several times both the president and Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the INEC, have tried to dispel the notion that the elections would be keyed in favour of Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, by promising that they would not tamper with the peoples mandate.
That notwithstanding, the National Council of State, NCS, on Tuesday, January 22, in Abuja, expressed satisfaction with the level of preparations of the INEC for the conduct of the forthcoming general elections. Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State made the position of the council known when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, which was presided over by Buhari at the State House. Akeredolu said that the endorsement of the INEC preparedness for the election followed a presentation made by Yakubu at the meeting of the council. He said the commission’s boss had convinced the council on the level of preparedness of the electoral body. According to him, the chairman also informed the council that the commission had embarked on training and retraining of staff for the successful conduct of the election. “He informed the council of the preparedness of INEC and everybody in the hall was convinced that INEC was ready for this election and a lot of things have been put in place.
“I think we all concluded that it is important for the chairman to even speak to the nation on the preparedness of INEC for this election – that would convince all of us that this forthcoming election is going to be free and fair,” Akeredolu said.
Besides, the governor said the INEC had improved on card reader. “It was made known that the process of continuous accreditation and voting system (vote at the same time and you leave) was the best.
“He also told the council that they are not lacking in terms of finance and that all the monies appropriated have been given to them and that they are ready for the election…
“So, everybody was convinced that INEC, as at today, is ready for the elections and questions were asked, he was interrogated and he responded and gave adequate explanation to the satisfaction of all of us,’’ he said.
Incidentally, one of the virulent critics of the INEC on the coming elections is former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who attended the NCS meeting because of his position as a former president. He has not volunteered a new perspective on the matter. But Obasanjo had in an open letter on Sunday, January 20, declared that he had no confidence in the ability of the INEC commission to hold free, fair and credible elections. The elder statesman said in the letter: “I personally have serious doubt about the present INEC’s integrity, impartiality and competence to conduct a fair, free and credible election.”
The former president used the Osun State election as yardstick as part of his reasons, berating the APC for what he described as “inconclusive” Osun State governorship election. He asked rhetorically: “And if the INEC is willing, will the ruling party and government allow it?”
He averred: “From what we saw and knew about Osun State gubernatorial election, what was conclusive was declared inconclusive despite all advice to the contrary.” Thus, he expressed fear that the Osun election might as well be a litmus test that the electoral umpire failed and lamented that the “unnecessary rerun” elections (in Osun). He said, “if viewed as a test-run for a larger general election, it would lead people to expect incidences of deliberately contrived, broken or non-working voting machines or card readers, confusion of voters as to their voting stations, inadequate supply of voting materials to designated places, long line to discourage voters and turning blind eyes to favour the blue-eye political party of INEC because the commission’s hands will be tied to enable hatchet men and women to perform their unwholesome assignment.
“The transmission and collation of results are subject to interference, manipulation and meddling. If the INEC’s favourite political party wins with all the above infractions, the result will be conclusively declared and if not, there will be a ‘rerun’, the result of which is known before it is carried out. I know that I am not alone in being sceptical about the integrity of INEC and its ability to act creditably and above board. But we are open to be convinced otherwise.”
Continuing, the former president said: “A friend of mine who is more credulous and who claims to be close to the chair of INEC keeps telling me that INEC will retrieve its image and reputation by conducting the coming elections with utmost integrity and impartiality.
“I am not sure as I believe more in action than in words and in past record than in promise. The track record of the present INEC is fairly sordid and all men and women of goodwill and believers in democracy must be prepared for the worst from INEC and their encouragers and how to get Nigeria out of the electoral morass that the commission is driving us into.”
Nevertheless, Obasanjo warned both the INEC and the APC: “To be forewarned is to be forearmed. A battle long forewarned does not embroil the cripple nor catch him unawares.
“A word is sufficient for the wise.”
Reacting to Obasanjo’s statement the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Sunday, January 20, said that the concerns raised by Obasanjo over Buhari’s alleged scheme to use the apparatus of state power to subjugate Nigerians, had vindicated its stand that the president is out for a self-succession plot.
The party said the former president’s submission also reinforced its position that the president and the APC, “having realised that there is no way he can win in a free and fair election, is now besieging all democratic institutions, including the Judiciary, the Legislature, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, while engaging in acts that threaten the unity, peace and corporate existence of our dear nation.”
A statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s spokesman, said the whole world could now see how Buhari and the APC’s desperation for power “is putting the lives of over 200 million Nigerian citizens at great risk as their actions stoke violence and push our dear nation to the precipice.” According to him, Obasanjo’s statement is a clarion call to everyone to rise in defence of Nigeria’s democracy.
Indeed, the PDP had earlier on Wednesday, January 2, raised the alarm on its fear about the coming general elections when it accused the president and the APC of compromising the INEC to rig the elections in favour of the ruling APC. In a press conference addressed by Ologbondiyan, who is also the director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, the party called on Yakubu to immediately disentangle himself and the INEC from the fresh plot by the APC and the Buhari Presidency to compromise the electoral guideline and pave the way for the alteration of the results of the 2019 general elections to favour the president. The party said it was already aware of the pressure being placed on the INEC chairman by the Buhari Presidency and APC seeking to force the commission to drop the display of results at the polling units as well as the electronic transmission of polled figures to INEC server from its guidelines.
It said: “The Buhari presidency is desperate to remove these requirements because the display of results at the polling units ensures that results posted at all levels remain those originally announced at the various polling units, while the electronic transmission to INEC server ensures that the results from the polling centres are not tampered with. PDP also demands that INEC allows both local and international observers to its situation room to ensure that the final figures are not tampered with.”
It further alleged that the ruling party and the presidency were mounting pressure on the INEC to drop those requirements so as to pave way for their planned alteration of results and allocation of fictitious figures to Buhari during the collation process. “Professor Yakubu must not succumb to the pressure of the Buhari presidency, because doing so will definitely set him on a collision course with Nigerians,” the PDP spokesman said. He also alleged that the INEC chairman was being offered humongous sums of money, running into billions of naira by agents of the APC and the cabal at the Buhari presidency to accede to their demands. Ologbodiyan did not say how much was offered and whether the INEC chairman actually received the alleged money. Nevertheless, the organisation warned Yakubu to bear in mind that all what Nigerians want is a transparent, free, fair and credible election that reflects only the will of the people, as directly expressed at the ballot. “Any attempt by anybody to subvert the will of the people will be highly resisted by Nigerians, in their determined resolve to elect a new president, come February 16, 2019,” the party spokesman said.
Also reacting to the former president’s allegation, the INEC boss said the commission is not under any pressure to rig the forthcoming elections. Yakubu said this in Abuja, on Monday, January 21, during a visit to Mohammed Adamu, the acting inspector-general of Police.
Appeared not to be surprised by Obsanjo’s allegation, he Yakubu said: “This is to be expected in an election year when people make all sorts of insinuations but I want to tell you that we, as a commission, have never been under any pressure to do what is wrong.
“We will never compromise our integrity to do what the law says that we shouldn’t and for the 2019 general elections.”
Besides, he assured that the commission would collaborate with the police and other security agencies for the protection of the electoral process such that votes would count in the polls.
Nevertheless, the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties, COP3, is not as distraught by the INEC preparations as the PDP. On Wednesday, January 22, the coalition expressed confidence on the readiness of the INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible.
The COP3 also condemned what it described as a desperate move by persons from different quarters to undermine the electoral process in this critical period.
In a statement issued by Agbo Major, the publicity secretary, the coalition said that the present election guideline issued by the INEC showed that the commission would ensure a credible poll.
Nevertheless, the coalition said: “We are concerned about the mass hysteria being created by otherwise respected statesmen and the apparent priming up of the nation for possible post-election crisis or, even violence. We disagree completely with those who question the sincerity, credibility and resoluteness of INEC and the patriotic disposition of its leadership to deliver free, fair and transparent elections in February and March 2019.”
The coalition pointed out that since the time of Attahiru Jega as the chairman of the INEC in 2010, the commission has maintained a tradition of robust engagement with all Nigeria’s registered political parties in the preparations for each and every election in the country. “As we approach the 2019 general election, this robust engagement had become even more intense with civil society organisations, the media, donor agencies, and other stakeholders brought to the table as well. Before now, this level of transparency had not been the case. Certainly, Nigeria’s elections are getting better with each election since 2010,” it said.
Hence, the COP3 is of the view that the conduct of the 2019 general elections will witness enhanced credibility and transparency.
The coalition also commended the neutrality of the federal government in handling the INEC matters, adding the commission had never witnessed such independence especially from 1999 to 2010. “It is also commendable that INEC has not been denied the necessary funds to carry out its functions as was the case in the sordid past. We believe that President Muhammadu Buhari can be taken for his words that he will not interfere directly or indirectly with the independence of INEC. We believe him because his track record during the various off-season elections that took place under his watch attest to it,” the coalition said.
The INEC also seems to have support from the religious leaders in Gombe State. On Wednesday, January 16, the religious leaders pledged to support the the commission towards ensuring free, fair, credible and peaceful general elections in state. The religious leaders gave the pledge during an interactive session with the INEC on the conduct of the scheduled general elections. Bullama Samuel, a reverend and secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, said as religious leaders, they had to go back to churches and mosques to continue sensitising their followers for successful and peaceful general elections. He commended the INEC for the job well done on the level of preparation for the forthcoming exercise in the state and assured that they would key in, especially in encouraging voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs. Samuel called on the security agencies to do more in checking instances that might result to crisis during election and the consequences on worship places.
Similarly, Muhammad Pindiga, the assistant secretary, Jamatul Nasril Islam, JNI, Gombe State, assured that the faith body would continue to sensitise its followers, at all levels, for the INEC to achieve its objectives. He commended the commission for introducing special consideration for the elderly, pregnant women and persons with disabilities during the election period. Pindiga said the election would be conducted peacefully, going by the effort of the INEC and all stakeholders in the state.
Umar Ibrhim, the INEC resident electoral commissioner, REC, in the state, said the interactive session was to solicit support of the religious leaders for the success of the general elections. He called on them to preach to their followers on the dangers of vote buying and violence during election. The REC said that vote buying is not good for the development of democracy, hence the need for religious leaders to understand and preach same to their followers. According to him, selling votes is selling the future of the family, community, states and the country at large. He said those that bought votes and won elections might not come back to contribute to the development of their people until after four years.
That notwithstanding, one major issue which, perhaps, is not likely to be resolved ahead of the general elections is that of Amina Zakari, an INEC commissioner, who was made chairperson of the committee on Results Collation on Thursday, January 3, by Yakubu. The INEC chairman said that the committee on National Collation Centre, which is entirely internal to the commission, would be responsible for the national collation centre from where results of the Presidential election would be announced.
Since the appointment, a number of Nigerians have alleged that Zakari is a relation to Buhari and that she might skew the presidential election result in his favour.
Despite the denial from the Presidency and Zakari that they are not blood relations, a good number of Nigerians have remained sceptical. This, perhaps, has also contributed to misgiving in certain quarters on the possible conduct of the elections.
In any case, Monday Onyekachi Ubani, a former second vice-president, Nigerian Bar Association, believes that only a total independent INEC would make its conduct of elections less suspicious.
In an interview with Realnews, he said: “The point is who appoints INEC chairman? It is the president of the country, who most of the time is a contestant in the election conducted by INEC. So that is an institutional defect. We must separate INEC chairman’s appointment from the president that is going to be a contestant in the election. This is a defect in the system. If we really want INEC to be independent in the real sense of that word, we must look at the issue of appointment of the person that presides over INEC. We must also look at the issue of funding; who funds INEC and even look at the structure itself and also look at the operational framework. If all these measures show some level of lack of independence, there is no way INEC can be independent.
“So, INEC will only be independent in name but when it comes to the issues of operations and logistics, INEC relies on the executive. We must try as much as possible to watch what other nations have done in order to make their electoral umpire to be really independent. For now, INEC in Nigeria is not truly independent in the real sense of the word.”
On the forthcoming, elections the lawyer said: “The election will hold but whether is going to be free, fair and credible is a different process.”
Indeed, the ball is now in the court of the INEC and to an extent, the presidency, to prove sceptics wrong by ensuring that the 2019 general elections are not only free, fair and credible, but they must also be seen in that manner. That is the moral burden that the electoral body now carries.
Vox Pop:
Realnews: Do you think INEC can organise a credible, free and fair election?
Christian Ahuchaogu, a university student
For where, didn’t you see what happened in the previous state elections? The desperation in the current government is out of ordinary. I don’t know why they’re so eager to return Buhari to power in this age and time. I don’t know what we stand to gain with a man like Buhari as Nigerian President in 21st century. The scenario is like where a blind man is leading the crippled.
Patrick Obinna, a journalist
The general believe is that INEC has been compromised and I don’t think my opinion is any different. INEC at it stands cannot conduct a free and fair election unless they are compelled by the people to do so.
Franklin Ibekwe, a businessman
For where?
Godwin Aikigbe, a sports journalist
Do you have any option? Should WAEC conduct it?
Funso Olojo, a journalist
JAMB should conduct it since you people have inexplicable phobia for INEC
Austin Amaechi, a lecturer
Yes, and Atiku will fail at all cost.
– Jan. 25, 2019 @ 13:39 GMT |
Tags: INEC’s Moral Burden over 2019 General Elections in Nigeria
