Following intrigues that have trailed most of the reruns in Nigeria since January 2016 and the fears over the outcome of the remaining ones, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports on the causes of the rerun election challenges
There is tension in Rivers State as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) concludes its preparation for the March 19, 2016 legislative rerun. The anxiety, fueled by the rivalry between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), is worsened by repeated murder cases in the area, alleged to be politically motivated.
Following the heinous killings, allegations and counter allegations by major stakeholders, observers are worried that on the day of the rerun, the situation may get out of hand.
The situation is the same in virtually all the affected states, zones and units where about 80 rerun elections were scheduled to be held this year. The Nation gathered that just like the general elections in these areas, the acrimony is rather worrisome to observers of Nigerian democracy.
This is because this seems to be the first time since Nigeria’s return to civil democracy in 1999 that a general election would produce up to 80 nullifications and consequent re-runs. After the 2011 General Elections, 34 elections were nullified while 20 were nullified in 2007. But in the 2015 elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acknowledged nullification of a whopping 82 polls. This development created an unusual tension, as reports from Bayelsa to Kogi and from Rivers to Anambra centred on disputation and heightened tension.
The apprehension began in earnest early January ahead the Bayelsa State governorship election rerun, when ex-militants from the state issued a public warning to Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo and the leader of the Niger Delta People Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo, to stay clear of Bayelsa State ahead of the rerun elections. Before the warning, there have been fears that some militants may have perfected plans to turn the polling units at the rerun to theatres of war.
It would be recalled that the December 5, 2015 Bayelsa State Governorship Election was marred by irregularities, prompting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to nullify the election in Southern Ijaw and in 101 other units.
INEC had explained then that the election was nullified due to violence, abduction of electoral officials and ballot box snatching in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and some other units. The two leading candidates, Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Governor Timipire Sylva of All Progressives Congress (APC) are known to be very popular amongst the common people of Bayelsa State, including the restive youths.
This explained why, when some ex-militant leaders, under the aegis of the Niger Delta Peace Yoke Leadership Initiative, led by Comrade Excel Toriomo, issued the warning to Tompolo and Dokubo, many feared that except something tangible was done immediately, the January 9, 2016 rerun would be more violent than the marred general election.
According to Toriomo, “Our group strongly warns Tompolo and Asari Dokubo to steer clear from the collective decision of the Bayelsa people. They should be saddled with the challenges of facing the EFCC rather than coming over to Southern Ijaw to foment non-existing troubles and crises in Bayelsa State.”
As many feared, in spite of the heavy presence of security forces before and during the rescheduled Bayelsa rerun, it recorded widespread violence, which claimed the lives of about 17 people.
On the eve of the rerun election, five people were shot dead in Ogbolomabiri, Nembe LGA, while six others were killed in different parts of the state on the Election Day.
Heavy shooting and snatching of ballot boxes made it difficult for elections to hold in some polling units in Nembe, Bassambiri and in Otuopoti Town.
At the peak of the confusion, Governor Seriakae Dickson condemned what he described as “the electoral malpractice and violence that marked the elections in Brass, Nembe, Ekeremor town and parts of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.”
The tension-soaked rerun dragged on all through the weekend until January 10, when Dickson was finally returned as the winner of the Bayelsa State governorship election.
Rivers
In Rivers State, the rerun challenges dated back to October, 2015, when the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal initially sacked Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the governor of Rivers State. The petition challenging the election of Wike was filed by Dakuku Peterside, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.
In its ruling, the tribunal had ordered that a fresh governorship election be conducted in the state.
Considering that the Rivers State elections were criticised by local and international observers for witnessing what was described as “the largest amount of violence both in its build-up and after the elections,” observers had expressed misgivings over the likely outcome of reruns in the politically charged state.
The tension was further heightened when Wike challenged the tribunal’s ruling but the Court of Appeal also upheld the ruling of the tribunal.
The matter however changed dramatically in January 2016, when the Supreme Court upturned the ruling of the lower courts and upheld Wike’s election as Rivers State Governor.
This reduced the tension in the politically volatile state but did not remove it completely as PDP and APC continue to exchange verbal attacks over the legislative rerun elections scheduled for this Saturday, March 19, 2016.
It would be recalled that the elections of Osinakachukwu Idoezu (Rivers South-West Senatorial District) and John Olaka-Nwogo (Rivers South-East) were nullified for irregularities last December. Earlier, George Sekibo (Rivers East District) was also sacked.
The Appeal Court had said INEC failed to comply substantially with the provisions of the Electoral Act and other guidelines for the March 28, 2015 National Assembly Election. This means that all the senatorial zones in the state would be involved in the rerun election.
To worsen the tension, the rerun was initially fixed for February 6, 2016 but suddenly postponed at the last minutes without any official reason. Since then, the political atmosphere has continued to build up following allegations by the stakeholders.
The situation assumed a more frightening dimension following reports of heinous murder cases in the state alleged to be politically motivated.
Recently, Wike alleged that Dr Davis Ikanya, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State chapter, has written a letter to the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Army High Command, requesting that prominent leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) be arrested on the eve of the March 19, 2016 rerun legislative elections in the state.
Wike made this allegation openly while addressing PDP members at Luuwa in Khana Local Government area during the 50th birthday of Senator Lee Maeba on Saturday, February 20.
Wike said the people of the state will resist any attempt to use the security forces to rig the rerun elections, adding, “We will support INEC to conduct free and fair elections, but nobody who rigs the election will go free.”
In his reaction, Ikanya denied ever writing any letter to security agencies to arrest members of the PDP, adding, “Is the governor now a mail-runner? Did he go to the DSS office to collect the letter? It’s all issues of lies dished out for cheap popularity; I challenge him to produce the letter.”
Ikanya said the only letter he wrote to security agencies was for them to protect the lives and properties of APC members who are daily slaughtered. He also said he asked security agencies to arrest those who, the surviving victims have alleged attacked them and butchered their loved ones.
He said: “As the Chief Security Officer of the State how many of the areas where citizens of state are wantonly slaughtered has Nyesom Wike visited to condemn the heinous crimes or commensurate with victims since he became governor.
“If our people are being killed and the governor is insensitive, when has it become a crime that a political party ask security agencies to be alive to their duty.
“Those criminals are butchering our people and carrying away their heads in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas. Is Governor Wike saying they are PDP members? If they are, are they above the law?
“When has it become a crime for an individual or group to ask for protection from law enforcement agencies? Must the governor only be concerned about winning elections? Those being butchered don’t they have right to life?”
Abia
Another state where significant election rerun challenges were recorded this year is Abia, where the governorship election was resolved after a very contentious rerun in three local government areas of Osisioma, Isiala Ngwa and Obioma Ngwa.
The conclusion of the governorship election, through the Supreme Court’s ruling, leading to the emergence of PDP’s Okezie Ikpeazu as the governor of Abia, failed to extinguish the tension generated by the senatorial rerun election in Abia North.
Added to the intriguing pre-rerun campaigns carried out by the candidates, the charged political atmosphere seems sustained by the curious way INEC announced Senator Mao Ohuabunwa of PDP as the winner of the keenly contested election.
Former governor Orji Uzor Kalu’s party, the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), which dismissed the result of the election, described it as a “robbery.” According to the result, Kalu, who flew the flag of PPA in the election, came second after Ohuabunwa.
The National Chairman of PPA, Chief Peter Ameh, who announced the party’s rejection of the result said: “The National Working Committee (NWC) of PPA strongly disagrees with and rejects the result of the Abia North senatorial re-run election announced by 1:45 on March 6. We state that it is indecorous to announce one result in the morning and another in the afternoon.
“We believe that the decision of the Returning Officer for the Ohafia collation centre, Dr. Ojike Nwankwo, to cancel results of some polling units in Ohafia and Arochukwu local governments for irregularities and declaring the election inconclusive is correct, fair and even handed.
“We state that what happened later the same day is a product of compromise and arm-twisting. INEC having done its (duty) fairly and correctly in the morning should never have allowed itself to be prevailed upon to shift ground,” he said.
Benue
Benue, where the former Senate President, David Mark, contested in a rerun election this March, is another state where analyst predicted possible crisis or challenges. As soon as the Court of Appeal, sitting in Makurdi, capital of Benue State, agreed with the petition of Comrade Daniel Onjeh of the APC and said Mark’s election did not comply with electoral provisions and therefore ordered a rerun, observers paid particular attention to the election primarily because of Mark’s domineering personality.
Some analysts said the odds were strongly against Mark in the rerun because he no longer had the federal might to bank on. This analysis heightened the tension even as Mark assured that he would still win the rerun. He did.
Yet-to-hold reruns
Information available to The Nation shows that like the case of Rivers State, other yet-to-be conducted legislative elections in places like Anambra Central and Imo North are also generating more tension than what has so far been recorded in the already conducted reruns.
For example, since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Friday, February 19, 2016, announced an indefinite suspension of the Saturday, February 20, 2016 rerun election in Imo North Senatorial District, there has been sustained political tension in the area as the candidates and their political parties tackle each other in most unexpected ways.
The case of Anambra Central is even more complex as the candidates and political parties are now on each other’s neck just like the true situation of the other senatorial seats in the South-East state remains a subject of controversy.
Dr Johnson Onyeoma, a human rights activist in Lagos, while commenting on the tension over election reruns alleged that the tension was a result of candidates’ desperation and INEC’s inability to conduct a perfectly free and fair election.
Just like common Nigerians, the country’s electoral umpire is concerned by the development. While confirming nullification of 82 elections and INEC’s preparedness for the reruns, the Chairman of the electoral umpire, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, assured Nigerians that his organisation will not only probe the reasons behind the nullification of the 82 elections, but will also evolve measures to tackle the issues.