SIR: We of the Citizens Centre for Democratic Governance commend INEC under the purposeful leadership of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood for his great stewardship and timely intervention in suspending the House of Assembly bye-election for Port Harcourt Constituency 3 on August 18. It will serve as deterrent to politicians who believe that violence would continue to be a viable election winning strategy in Nigeria.
Our field agents, who were on ground at Port Harcourt visited some polling units to observe the turnout and the process in general. They confirmed that the election commenced peacefully in all the units, with INEC personnel and materials in sight well ahead of time. However, they lamented the unruly interruption of the process by hoodlums and racketeers accompanied by security agents who stormed different polling units and registration areas to disrupt voting activities and in the process made away with election materials, including smart card readers, ballot papers and ballot boxes. They also rained terror, molested and injured many electoral officials, while holding others hostage.
While the blame game continues with the PDP claiming that the APC employed the use of thugs with the support of security operatives to disrupt the election, the APC is also claiming that the PDP employed the help of militants to disrupt the voting exercise. We want to state unequivocally that election is not a do or die affair and this particular election is an example of a joke taken too far. We condemn in its totality, the actions taken by the two major political parties involved and call on all civil society organization, faith based organizations, ethnic based organizations among others, to rise up against this kind of happenings as it is capable of endangering our democracy.
The law enforcement agencies must investigate this awkward event and punish all officers found guilty. Enough of the use of security operatives as thugs in our elections; the same with use of security operatives to intimidate electorate and thugs to steal ballot boxes and other electoral materials. Enough is enough.
We commend INEC for taking this bold step that will go a long way to sanitize the electoral system particularly as it serves notice to politicians that any election marred with violence shall be cancelled.
- Anthony Osagbemi,
Citizens Centre for Democratic Governance, Ibadan.