The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ELECTION

  • 2019 election: CAN declares 72 hours prayer for free, credible poll

    The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Saturday declared  18-20 November, 2018 as days of non-stop praise to God for divine intervention on the next year’s general election and other problems facing the country. 

    The “72 hours Praise and Worship” is to be organized in all churches nationwide between 18th November, 2018 – 20th November, 2018 as from 7:00 am  and on the 18th – 6:00 pm 20th November, 2018. 

    The Programme is to celebrate the envisaged victory Nigeria will experience over economic, security challenges, social, religious and political problems Nigerians. 

    CAN, through the Acting General Secretary, Barrister Joseph Daramola, has asked all bloc leaders and their Secretaries, all Zonal chairmen, all State Chairmen and all denominational leaders to organize their church members in non-stop praise of God’s majesty over “the victory he has given us in Nigeria on all our challenges, especially His intervention over the coming general election.” 

    READ ALSO: Call on God to defend Nigeria, Adeboye tells Nigerians

    A statement issued by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant (Media & Communications) to the CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, the Christian body said: “Having noted various challenges the country is going through, the CAN Leadership considered the need for us to organize a strategic three days of non-stop praise over them in the country (as was done in the Bible in 2 Chronicles Chapter 20), especially the forthcoming 2019 elections with a view to stopping a crisis-ridden election that will not be free, fair and credible. 

    “The praise is also about the victory we believe God has given the Church in Nigeria over all powers of darkness that want to engulf the Church in whatever guise. We should praise God that bloodshed will be no more in Nigeria. A bad leader will not be elected as our President in 2019. All human efforts to manipulate elections will fail and Leah Sharibu and all those in captivity will be released. 

    “All churches in the country are urged to participate in the programme to usher the country into a new era of peace, unity, safety and all round prosperity.”

  • 2019: IPC trains journalists on election reporting

    Ahead of the 2019 general elections, no fewer than 25 political journalists have been trained on professional and digital reporting by the International Press Centre (IPC).

    The two-day workshop which held in Ogun state was organised by IPC in collaboration with European Union (EU).

    According to IPC, over 500 persons expressed interest to participate in the workshop but only 25 from different media organisations across the South-west of Nigeria were selected.

    Addressing participants on Wednesday, the Director, International Press centre Mr Lanre Arogundade described journalists as the heartbeat of the public.

    He however charged reporters to learn, unlearn and relearn so as to meet the utmost demands of journalism and ensuring desired change in the profession.

    Speaking during the training, Mr. Taiwo Obe, founder of journalism clinic urged participants on the importance of social media tools in news reporting.

    Obe, in a paper presentation titled Covering Political Space using Digital Tools and Apps, emphasised the need for reporters to think and rethink.

    “Your most important tool is your thinking” He said.

    He emphasised the development of creative stories and data ideas urging journalists to make their voices heard using various social media platforms.

    Journalists and former presidential aide on public affairs Mr Bolaji Adebiyi also urged reporters on in depth understanding of the legal frame work of the electoral processes.

    Adebiyi in his presentation titled” The dos and don’ts of election reporting” highlighted inadequate knowledge of the rule as one of the challenges of election coverage in Nigeria.

    Encouraging reporters to go back and study the constitution, he said ” journalists should be abreast and have deep knowledge of provisions of legal framework of the Electoral Processes especially the 1999 Constitution,

    Electoral Act 2010 as amended, INEC guidelines and constitutions of various political parties.”

    Adebiyi noted that political reporters could cause conflicts if they lack the necessary knowledge of the legal rules.

    A social and human capacity expert, Mr Jide Ojo said that the major role of the media as the watchdog of the society is to set agenda for the politicians.

    “The Media should set Agenda for the Contestants with a view to holding them accountable when elected into office” he said.

    Ojo challenged reporters to carry out their responsibilities ahead of the 2019 general elections adding that the media has so far not lived up to expectations.

    Speaking on integrating human index development into data, Ojo urged journalists to ask the right questions from political contestants.

    According to him, campaigns should be based on socio-economic issues such as “water, unemployment, electricity, tourism, agriculture, transportation”

    Participants however expressed joy to be part of the training as they all said they learnt a lot.

  • 2019 election: Lens of the reasonable man

    Election is a contest. It is not a war; neither is it a do or die affair. It is not a fight to the finish. It is an election. As the 2019 general election approaches, there is the need to champion and promote a new era of electioneering where candidates of the various political parties will be best of friends. Supporters will be friends. No more clashes or politics of bitterness. Politics come and go; we must all stay alive as one Nigeria in peace and unity.

    Before we decided to contest in an election, we were first Nigerians, after the elections, win or lose, we remain one. Nobody is denied his Nigerian citizenship on grounds of losing an election. Issues should be addressed and not attacking the personality of candidates. The final choice is for Nigerians to make. Mudslinging and character assassination should be shunned at all cost. The party with the best candidates capable of performing should be elected irrespective of whether he is in a minority party.

    If the process that brings up a party candidate is transparent, such a candidate will eventually be a credible and accountable leader if eventually elected. But Nigeria is yet to get it right by electing the right leaders into positions of authority. When the righteous rule, the people rejoice. But when the leadership is bad there is lamentation.

    Nigeria, by all standard, deserves to be among the league of developed countries of the world, such as China, Japan, Britain and even the United States of America. As one of the world’s leading producers of crude oil, Nigeria has got all it needs to be well developed: surplus human and natural resources

    It beats me hollow to see that no matter how transparent an administration claims to be, cans of worm are eventually opened when the books of administration are looked into.

    We can have a Nigeria which is truly the Nigeria of our dreams if we elect the right candidates in the next general election. Of course we can have a Nigeria where government would use its electoral promises as a road map to good governance and where the impact of government is felt even to the grass root. The party with the best candidates should be voted for, then we can have a Nigeria where robbery, social disturbances, resources exploitation and violent crime would be history.

    Nigeria will surely be great again.

    • By Peter Erekose,

    University of Benin, Edo State

  • Osun: 2019 threats and opportunities

    If there was one thing the recent Osun State governorship poll showed up quite clearly, it was that all stakeholders in the Nigerian electoral process are taking the power of the ballot box in the country more seriously. That is one window of opportunity that must be cashed upon for the forthcoming 2019 general election.

    Unlike what used to be historically, down until the early 20s, electoral contests are these days being keenly fought by gladiators who stake their chances on every vote that can be wormed out of a conscious electorate. Elections are no longer uppity shows of orchestrated heists by political buccaneers, facilitated by an evidently compromised election manager. Now voters are important – at least, to some significant extent and despite infractions that yet hobble the system.

    Voters themselves seem increasingly aware of their relevance, and the fact that they substantially hold the ace on how the pendulum swings in electoral outcomes. That is to say they not only cast their votes, they also expect those votes to count in the results that eventually show up. In effect, they are no more as apathetic as historically in their participation and subsequent processing of electoral outcomes by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    I was in the Osun town of Iwo during the governorship poll of September 22nd and I witnessed how ordinary townspeople – as opposed to political jobbers and gladiatorial foot soldiers – turned out at dawn with zest to make their little impact felt in the electoral choice that faced the state. I witnessed how the ordinary folk, including women and the aged, hung out steadfastly at polling precincts to watch over and see through the processes that produced micro outcomes where they had cast their ballots.

    On the following Sunday morning as the people of Osun and the larger world waited on the collation of results in hope for the declaration of a winner by the poll’s Returning Officer, grassroots anticipation was so genuine and thick you could cut it with a kitchen knife. Just like when rival teams are playing a crunch match away and fans just wouldn’t want to miss a moment of the field action, I witnessed many among the townsfolk hold mini transistor sets to their ears while treading footpaths or were being transported on motorbikes to places of appointment (you could take for granted that those riding in vehicles had their car radios on), as they kept up with media live coverage of then ongoing collation proceedings in Osogbo, the state capital. And when the collation of results led up to an inconclusive verdict by the Returning Officer, you could almost hear a groundswell of agonised frustration among the populace being instantly rechanneled into renewed expectation of a supplementary outcome.

    The involvement of voters in the Osun poll was also illustrated by their zestful presence for both the main election on September 22nd and the supplementary poll on September 27th. Although the official percentages are yet to be posted by the commission on its website, it was sufficiently reported that turnout across the state was enthusiastic, such that there was eager voter turnout in defiance of early morning rainfall in some areas on the day of the supplementary poll. Actually, the rate of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection ahead of the elections, which INEC put at 73 percent of registrants, had also indicated a high level of voter enthusiasm.

    Resurgent voter interest in the electoral process is largely so because the electoral body is visibly down on fours to deepen the integrity of the polling system. Without prejudice to partisan blame game and the merit (or otherwise) of allegations trailing the outcome of the Osun election, which may yet be fielded before the courts, you can’t in good conscience deny that the commission is by the day getting a better handle on its duties in election management. Testimonies by politicians across partisan divide and by neutral observers applauded the routine processes of the Osun poll.

    Meanwhile, elections in Nigeria are no longer landslide runs for fleet-footed heisters. Most electoral contests now come to the wire, hence the need in many cases for the electoral commission to wait to factor in outstanding voters, which make some elections inconclusive at the first ballot and warrant supplementary polling before winners can be declared. In the Osun governorship, the official margin of victory in the September 22nd poll placed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate 353 votes ahead in a circumstance where 2,637 votes were outstanding in seven polling units across four council areas where elections were cancelled owing to irregularities during the first ballot. Also by official verdict, the victory margin swopped the header to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and inched to 482 votes in the supplementary poll. And that wasn’t without close-heeled horse-trading by the two leading political parties with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate whose voter strongholds fell within the areas marked out for the supplementary poll. Bottom line was that political gladiators now reckon with the voter factor in their victory calculations.

    And so, you could say we have come a long way in this country since the reforms that began in INEC in 2010. This is something to build upon by all stakeholders in the 2019 general election. For instance, contrary to widespread notion, the inconclusiveness of some elections at first ballot should be seen as a sign of strength – an indication of the electoral body’s integrity in its bid to block buccaneer habits of political actors. That, of course, isn’t to foreclose that the commission itself yet harbour in-house buccaneers who need to be stopped from inflicting historical malpractices that had odourised the collective and undermined the credibility of the electoral process.

    The recent Osun poll as well showed up some tendencies that pose clear threats to the forthcoming general election. Political thuggery and other acts of brigandage suspected to be sponsored by desperate gladiators hobbled the governorship election. That was the reason voting was cancelled in some polling units during the main poll, necessitating the supplementary poll that also witnessed rough spots. But that wasn’t even the biggest challenge.

    The governorship election revealed that the conduct of security agencies, notably the Police, is becoming an albatross on the electoral system. The role of security agencies ideally is to assist INEC with the conduct of elections by maintaining peace and order in the course of that process, based on grand designs by the electoral body. But rather than complement the commission, security operatives are apparently going rouge, enough to hijack and derail INEC’s basic operations.

    Ahead of the Osun poll, for instance, the Police nearly pulled the rug from under the field of contest by summoning and scheduling court prosecution of a frontline candidate on the eve of the election for alleged examination offences that could well be taken up at a more opportune time. But for a swift override by the President, the agency might have obstructed some 255,000 Osun voters – going by the official scoreline – in their electoral choice. And what’s more, I would wager that INEC, which had laid out the contest field, was taken unaware.

    Reports from the supplementary poll on September 27th also cited flagrant interference by security operatives in the attempt by some voters to exercise their franchise. Observers and other accredited stakeholders such as journalists were also reportedly obstructed, making international observers and some civil society groups raise queries on the fairness of the poll. Among others, observers deployed by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) reported that their members were arrested and detained in one of the areas where the supplementary election held. It took INEC National Commissioner Festus Okoye, who himself is a lawyer, to secure their release from the undeserved detention and facilitate their access to the polling precinct.

    Unless security agencies, especially the Police, subject their operational orders for elections to the overall directive of INEC, they could become rouge and effectively torpedo efforts by the electoral body to stage successful elections next year.

     

    • Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • Osun governorship rerun election holds September 27

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced Thursday September 27 as the new date for a rerun after Saturday’s inconclusive Osun State gubernatorial election.

    The commission said the rerun election will hold in seven polling units within four local governments areas of the state.
    The affected councils areas include Orolu, Osogbo, Ife South and Ife North.
    Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Segun Agbaje, said the rerun would start at the normal time between  8.00 am  and 2.00 pm.
    He said since the affected polling units are few, voting  will end early so that the winner can be announced as promptly as possible.

    The Returning officer, Prof. Joseph Adeola Fiwape at at the end of the collation of votes had declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, won majority votes of 254,698 votes while the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, came second with 254,345 votes.

    In Osogbo Unit 017, he said the result was cancelled  because the presiding officer absconded with electoral materials, adding that total number of registered voters in the polling unit was 884.
    In Orolu the election was cancelled due to snatching of ballot box.

    Both leading candidates had a difference of about 354 votes.

    Fiwape said: “Unfortunately as the returning officer, it’s not possible to declare anybody as the clear winner of the election on the first ballot.”

    According to him, the total registered voters in the seven polling units where elections were cancelled is 3,498 votes.

    He said that since the figure was higher than the difference between the votes of the leading candidates, a re-run election had to be conducted.

    “From the analysis of the results we have the difference between the two leading parties is just 353 votes. The number of votes in polling units where election were cancelled is 3,498. To that effect, as retuning officer it is not possible to declare any party as clear winner of this election on the first ballot.

    “But I must commend the people of this state for being peaceful. The INEC, therefore, declare September 27 as date for a rerun election.  On the basis of this, I, declare the election inconclusive. I, Joseph Adeola Fiwape, hereby, declare this election inconclusive

  • Osun: Confusion in SDP, ADP, ADC over ‘alliance’

    THERE was confusion yesterday among the supporters of three major parties participating in tomorrow’s Osun State governorship election, following the rumour that they had formed an alliance.

    Radio stations were broadcasting the denial of such an alliance by no fewer than three of the five prominent candidates.

    The candidates are Iyiola Omisore of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Moshood Adeoti of the African Democratic Party (ADP) and Fatai Akinbade of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

    At a briefing in Osogbo, the state capital, Omisore, who spoke for the three candidates, said Adeoti and Akinbade did not step down for him, adding that what they had was an alliance for a credible election.

    He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of intimidating would-be voters at rallies.

    The APC denied the allegation.

    Its spokesman Kunle Oyatomi described the “gang-up” of opposition parties as a “house of commotion”.

    Speaking on the telephone last night, Oyatomi said: “We in the APC do not see any threat to whatever the opposition or a coalition of them is doing.

    “We are bigger than all of them put together. We will win the election because we have a lot to show as achievements.

    “We defeated them in 2014 when the PDP in this state was formidable. Now they are split into pieces. They will lose. They are jittery and are pretenders.

    “They are people who lack vision and mission. That is why they have reduced the campaign to only payment of salaries.”

    Omisore said: “APC has been boasting that they will rig election. So, these three parties, in spite of the differences in their names and candidates, still believe that the election must be credible. That’s why we signed the protocol. It is incumbent on these other parties, being leading opposition parties in the state, to publicly ask the people of Osun State to be vigilant as they cast their votes to prevent malpractices. We just want sincerity, credibility and fairness at the poll.”

    Omisore said each of the three parties would run its election by itself, but that there was need to encourage voters across the state not to be intimidated in any way because they are committed to free and fair election tomorrow.

    But when asked to provide evidence of the alleged intimidation by the governing party, Omisore said the declarations made by the APC at its rallies were pure intimidation which could discourage the masses from coming out to cast their votes. “We watched it on Channels Television as they said those things. So, it is public knowledge, nothing that requires any documentary evidence,” he said.

    While denying withdrawing from the election, Adeoti, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr Kayode Agbaje, said he had no discussion with any other candidate about standing down, affirming that he remained a candidate in the election.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Moshood Adeoti Campaign Organisation (MACO) has been drawn to a rumour currently gaining ground in Osun State that our principal and governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, has withdrawn his participation from the race in favour of Senator Iyiola Omisore, the candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    “We wish to reiterate that at no time was our canadidate contacted for such and that the ADP and Alhaji Adeoti harbour no such plans.

    “We still stand resolutely behind our resolve to contest and by God’s grace win the election.”

    Akinbade debunked the insinuations that he had stepped down for Omisore.

    His Media Officer said: “Akinbade is in the race for good. The people of Osun are itching to have him as their next governor. This they hope to translate come Saturday, September 22, through their worthy votes.”

    According to Akinbade, the rumour is malicious and insulting to the ADC political family.

    “Our main focus is the execution of the Sept. 22, 2018 election to success. The people of Osun State are rooting for the victory of Alhaji Fatai Akinbade and this will be proved by their massive votes on Saturday. You are requested to remain resolute and cast your votes for the ADC on Saturday.”

    The statement condemned what it described as “dirty” and “cheap” politics embarked upon by those”afraid of their own political shadow.”

     

  • Aregbesola advises corpers to resist being used for rigging

    Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Monday advised corps members in the state to resist being used for rigging by politicians, in the Sept. 22 gubernatorial election.

    Aregbesola gave the advice at the closing /terminal parade of the orientation course for the 2018 Batch B Stream II corps members, at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) permanent orientation camp in Ede, Osun.

    The governor, who was represented on the occasion by Mrs Folakemi Adegboyega, Commissioner for Employment and Youth Engagement, said it was necessary to continue to admonish the corps members, especially those who would be engaged as ad-hoc staff for the election.

    Aregbesola advised them to be neutral and should not betray the trust reposed in them.

    “You all have been rightly informed during the swearing-in ceremony of your role in the forthcoming election in the state.

    “Ensure to abide by the advice which came to you through seasoned officers of the scheme and its collaborating agencies, when you are called upon for participation in the election process in the course of your service year.

    “Shun violence and corruption, ensure that the votes of every citizens at the polling units counts and do not allow yourselves to be used by anyone to perpetuate rigging during the process.

    “Remember your family, the scheme, and the nation at large are looking up to you; and so, do not let the trust reposed in you by these people be at naught,” he said.

    Mr Emmanuel Attah, State Coordinator of the NYSC in Osun, in his own address, assured the people of the state and Nigerians that the scheme would continue to play its neutral role in the Nigeria electoral process.

    Attah said the scheme had given credibility to past elections in the country and it intended to maintain it.

    He, however, warned that the NYSC would not take it lightly with any individual or group of persons who attempt to intimidate or harm any corps member (s) in the name of political thuggery.

    Attah advised politicians to stay away and not induce the corps members, adding that they were well-trained and sensitised not to listen or take anything from them under any guise.

  • It’s a make or mar election for Osun

    Mr. Olugbenga Akintola is the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State. In this interview with Bisi Oladele, he says the September 22 election is a make-or-mar exercise for the people of the state

    HOW has the campaign been since you started?

    The campaign has been very, very tough because of the injection of what I will call extreme money spending by major parties which are either in government or have been in government. I am only supported by well-meaning Nigerians who believe that our people must be free from the shackles that are currently holding them back from prosperity. If you look round, you will see that the quality of development is not commensurate with the amount that has been spent by the government. Most parts of our state do not have manageable road network. It hurts me that they have subjected our people to this condition. They complain of paucity of funds but what they did with the little available is not commensurate. We are still talking about roads built by Obafemi Awolowo till today. It’s a shame. Some of the roads built five years ago are already in mess. I’ve been in road construction and management for eight years in Lagos and Oyo states and I did well there. This is not good for our people. We all travel to Europe and America and we see how things are done there. For God sake, let’s just do a bit for our people. I am angry with the way they are treating our people. It is not fair. Government sometimes gives pittance to people instead of developing the environment to make it conducive for citizens to thrive. Stop giving them fish; let them fish by themselves.

    I have been empowering people in this state in the last six years. We have done free diagnosis of hypertension and related ailments for over 20,000 people across the state via the Olugbenga Akintola Foundation. We have very many testimonies from the beneficiaries. I’m just coming from Ila Orangun. The women were crying. They held me by my feet. They said they had been looking forward to meet me having benefitted from the works of my foundation. In addition to that, I have given microfinance assistance to over 1,000 people costing N19.8 million. I have given free drugs to all the major hospitals in Osun State worth N64.4 million. There is a disease called infection of the blood, abdomen and the lungs. One of the most potent drugs for its treatment is called Taxocin.  It is an injection which costs N9, 000 each. For a man earning N30, 000 a month, who has a wife and three children to cater for, where will he get that kind of money to treat himself or his wife? I had to go and knock on the doors of my development partners abroad and my friends here to raise money to provide the drugs. I brought 7,200 of the drugs and distributed to government hospitals. I did not just do this in year 2018. It was in the midst of it that people knocked on my door and asked me to contest so I could have a larger platform to do well for our people.

    Given the fact that you have done so much empowerment and charity for people at the grassroots in addition to taking your campaign to them, how will you assess your chances in this election?

    When I get to them, they have been asking me why people have not been hearing so much about me. I went for the debate organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and was told that I won. I went for the debate by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and was also told that I performed best. I came tops in the one organised by the state broadcasting corporation. But people don’t know me enough because I have not got the funds. So, there is no level-playing field. Some candidates are being backed by the government and some wealthy individuals. So, they can spend billions.

    Are you discouraged by this?

    No way. Even if I don’t win, I will be an example for others to follow. People will see that even if you don’t have money, you can still make serious progress in this environment. I went somewhere now and gave them my fliers. They queried me what they would do with the fliers when they were not accompanied with money? Can you imagine what our society has been turned to? This is not fair. We don’t deserve this. This is what we must resist.

    What message do you have for the people of Osun State as they approach September 22 to cast their votes?

    My people in Osun State should realise that this is going to be the most important election in the history of Osun State. It is a decision-making election. We either vote for retrogression or geometric progression because PDP and APC will take us back again. They have done their best but their best is not good enough. It is not that they have not done anything but their best is not good enough. What is missing is sincerity of purpose. So, people should take this election seriously. Don’t be threatened by anybody. Stay with your vote. When they offer you money, take it but vote according to your conscience because anybody that offers you money is a criminal. Let the people vote for AD, the party with stars, for the sake of their future, for the progress of Osun and to end poverty.

    If elected, we are going to rejuvenate our economy and our state will come to reckoning among other states

  • 2019 election not for poor youths

    SIR: When President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Not Too Young To Run Bill into law, many Nigerian youths heaved a sight of relief. They saw it as an opportunity to actively participate or take a shot in the country’s fledging democracy. Since the return of democracy, Nigerian youths have been relegated to the background. They have been prevented or not allowed to showcase their God-given leadership talents. These energetic and productive youths who constitute over 70% of the country’s population have what it takes to steer the country to the promise land. Unfortunately, however, the ruling elites have refused to give them a chance. Nigerian youths, from time immemorial, have been playing passive political roles. They have been turned into political thugs by our political leaders. They are only engaged or hired during election. They will be given dangerous weapons, hard drugs in other to help and rig the election in favour of their sponsors.

    Sadly, after they coasted to victory, these politicians abandon the youths to their fate. The passing of Not Too Young To Run Act has re-kindled the hope that, sooner than later, Nigerian youths would find themselves in the position of authority. The forthcoming 2019 general election would serve as the litmus test for the law. However, the spirit and enthusiasm or passions of Nigerian youths are being gradually killed by political parties. The ongoing sales of nomination forms by various political parties have been greeted with hue and cries. The exorbitant cost of the forms being charged by our political parties has become a matter of public discourse. It is generally viewed as direct attack to the ambition of many promising and intelligent youths. No wonder even President Buhari could not hide his feelings about the cost of the form as he admitted he didn’t possess the N45million to purchase it. At the end, some associates footed the bill and obtained the form for him. If the president could complain about the expensive cost of the form, what about the ordinary poor Nigerian youths who want to try their luck?

    From the way things are unfolding, it seems the political parties in cahoots with the ruling elites are hell-bent on denying the youths their constitutional right to contest. The political parties which served as the platform for leadership recruitment have failed to create a level playing field for the youths to excel in our democratic settings. For the youths who can afford the cost of the forms, they will be confronted with additional challenges of heavy financial war chest to settle the powerful parties’ delegates. Also, they need to become the preferred or anointed candidates of emperor governors to win the parties primaries. These huddles will inevitably discourage the youths from actively participating in politics.

    With the global leadership shift which pays emphasis on youths, political observers had thought Nigeria will toe the line. Emmanuel Macron became the president of France at a young age. In Nigeria, the old politicians who I read their history in the early 70’s and late 80’s are still calling the shots. The poser is: when are will they vacate the space for the younger generation?

    The Not Too Young To Run Act is a charade and scam.

     

    • Ibrahim Mustapha,

     Pambegua, Kaduna State.

  • Party primaries and candidate selection

    Undoubtedly political parties in all regions and climes of the world are important components of liberal democracy and electoral processes. Political parties’ produce the candidates, set the parameters of issues and agenda within which elections are to be ‘fought’ and are further expected to perform these duties from one election to another.

    The growth of modern democratic practice revolves around political parties, which stand out as organized platforms for the articulation of aspirations and canvassing for electoral votes. While the idea of independent candidacy is practiced in some democracies, it remains an exception to the rule of political organization or the machinery through which government is formed and power is acquired.

    Under the 1999 constitution (as amended), only duly registered political parties licensed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), can take part and present candidates for election into all the offices in the federation. In other words, any Nigerian seeking elective office must be a card-carrying member of such a party. Put differently, political parties are sine qua non in Nigeria’s nascent party politics. Expectedly, they are supposed to play a critical role in promoting democratic thinking and democratizing political systems. They are instruments linking the rulers to the ruled. Parties are thus basic organizational means by which people compete in elections for the rights to formulate and implement their policy objectives through the political systems. Indeed, according to leading scholars of party politics, democracy is a function of competing and conflicting parties and there is a structural link between mass mobilizing parties and political participation as it is the case in Europe and America.

    The snag, however, is that there is a missing link in the Nigerian politics. What is more, the Nigerian political parties do not perform the aforementioned functions in a democratic manner. Virtually all existing political parties are not well organized for them to be catalyst for democratic sustenance and consolidation. They also do not compete over the issues they will purse if elected into public office. Parties have failed to offer policy alternatives as expected of them. Elections are hardly fought on issues. It is not surprising that result of elections does not mostly reflect what people prefer at that particular time in question. This is going by the spontaneous reactions to most contested results either in law courts of street fights. Thus, political parties do fail to have elected officials bound by their campaign pledges. Hence, a wide gap between what is promised and what is delivered.

    The aforementioned scenario is not unconnected with the faulty primaries or what is generally known as shadow elections. When wrong candidates are selected for whatever reason(s) they can never deliver when they attain public office. Three menaces are usually associated with party primaries. First, candidates are usually imposed by their god-fathers who usually discountenance with democratic ethos and canons for their whims and caprices. The second associated menace is that of vote buying. In many instances, party primaries become great ‘bazaar’ with aspirants influencing even electoral officers with huge sums of money to sway victory in their favour. Where a candidate expended large sums of money bribing party members and stakeholders, it makes sense to reasonably surmise that a candidate that actually purchased party ticket may not eventually do the biddings of the party.  The debilitating influence of money in body politic is so profound in contemporary Nigeria that the system is beleaguered for now. Thirdly, electoral violence where electorates are forced using the instrumentality of brute force and violence to go for a choice that may negate their will; the three highlighted facts combined together seem to have enormously corrupted the polity.

    In an attempt to perhaps mitigate the effect of the highlighted electoral evils, the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC), is gradually opting for direct rather than indirect primaries. The last primary election in Osun State was experimentation with direct primary because of the deadly fear of vote buying which may eventually give victory to the highest bidder. Thus, it is important to consider the pros and cons of both choices – direct and indirect primaries – vis-à-vis candidate selections.

    Going by the provisions of the APC constitution, Article 20(iii) stipulated that nomination of candidates for virtually all positions shall be through direct or indirect primary election to be conducted at the appropriate level and designated centres. From the look of things, the party seems to be in love with direct primary which was adopted recently in Osun State but while it worked in case of Osun governorship shadow election, it may be difficult in some other places.

    The beauty of indirect election is that delegates who must have been elected by party members in congresses are eligible to participate in candidate selection for public elections. Delegates are minimal in number in comparison with the total number of party members. The assumption is that delegates are expected to know better in terms of making reasonable choices for the party which must have necessitated their elections ab initio. But alas! It is indeed a calamity sort-of that the so-called delegates are now being put into abeyance simply because they could compromise themselves.

    Meanwhile, the direct primary modality which the party constitution provided for too may not be pragmatic in all cases after all. To start-with, it may reduce the influence of money in the sense that it may be practically impossible to induce all voters with money at the polling units. With the on-going membership registration and revalidation, at the end of the day millions of people may register as members of the ruling party in a single state. This makes it impossible to reach all voters in all polling units with money. While in a state, total number of delegates may not be as many as three thousand but total number of party members may be well over a million.

    Technically, it is easier to manage delegates than mass of the party members. For choice of presidential candidate it means all registered members of the party all over the country would be asked to go all out to vote in all the wards across the country. Rather than delegates converging on a designated centre to vote on behalf of the party members at large, the idea of bringing every dick and harry for a direct primary is no doubt strange in this clime.

    Be that as it may, what direct primary promises in terms of militating against money bags’ influences is however truncated in giving the polity what we know as ‘mobocracy’ rather than democracy. Calling out all members of the party to vote in shadow election will be counter-productive. Such mob action is not good for a nascent democracy. What the party should have done is to ensure that delegates are sufficiently educated politically so that they may have the interest of their party at heart. Not only that, the concept of party discipline which is lacking in virtually all the extant political parties may be a matter of concern. Party leaders are supposed to provide guiding light to members and delegates. Where no one is in charge for selfish reasons, our democracy cannot be nurtured. Fear of delegates going haywire shows that party discipline is lacking and love for money seem to have injured our societal norms and values.  The argument here is that whatever may be the advantages of direct primaries, it is not the best. Calling out all members for all elections from local government, state elections – House of Assembly and governorship primaries – to national elections such as the House of Representatives and senate with the presidential election possibly every week before the general elections, no doubt, people becomes election weary thereby exacerbating the problem of apathy.

    In the final analysis, it is better to educate and enlighten party members and stakeholders as well too that corrosive impact of money in politics is not the best rather than smartly jettisoning indirect election for the fear of lack of firm grip on party members at large.

     

    • Dr. Ojo sent in this piece via eojo12000@gmail.com