..Says no more excuses
The Federal Government has again read out the riot act to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Federal Governmenton Wednesday said INEC is condemned to conduct election this Saturday; saying nothing less will be acceptable.
Besides, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mathew Onyeama said the government demands 100% assurance that this Saturday is sacrosanct.
Details shortly…
•Senator confident of Buhari’s victory
Senator Godswill Akpabio has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of working with Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel.
According to him, while the commission is an independent body, some of its officials are not completely independent.
Akpabio, who addressed reporters in Abuja, said Governor Emmanuel was working with some officials of the commission to compromise the elections, and has also deployed money to entice the people.
He was, however, confident of President Muhammadu Buhari winning the presidential election, saying the greatest undoing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate was his promise to sell the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which, according to him, amounts to making people of the Niger Delta tenants in their own land.
He said: “You know that INEC is an Independent body, but some of its officials are not totally independent. We have noticed some unholy alliances with the government in power in some states. For example, in Akwa Ibom, we have seen the body language of the government, which clearly shows that it will not be able to conduct credible elections, giving the parties, particularly the APC, a level playing ground.
“APC has no intention of taking Akwa Ibom. The only intention of APC is to reflect the will of the people which today remains 80-90 per cent APC. My people are quite determined to join the centre politics; some of them, who are politicians, have been defecting and those who are not politicians are declaring their support for the APC.
“When people are with you, you will win election, but when they are not with you, you don’t win. These are not hired crowds. People say they have doubt about Akwa Ibom will become an APC state. I can tell you that Akwa Ibom is already an APC state, just waiting for election to happen.
“I believe strongly that the APC has done well, particularly in the last two months of campaigns. We thank God that the President was able to show not just his fitness, but his capacity and capability to continue to run the affairs of the country till 2023…”
TO All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has vindicated the ruling party’s claim that the opposition was working with some officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to compromise the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Oshiomhole, who addressed reporters last night, said it had become clearer that the only mission of the PDP candidate “is to cause confusion in the electoral system so that he will become President even it means presiding over graves”.
According to him, only those who want to deploy thugs to undermine the elections will oppose and find fault with the statement of the President aimed at discouraging thuggery during the election.
Oshiomhole said the attention of the international community at the moment is that elections across the world should be violent-free and assured that the forthcoming elections will be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.
He said: “It is only those who believe in thuggery that will find fault with the President’s directive. Is there anyone that would want to vote for thuggery? Is there any thug that is not armed? You cannot snatch ballot box without the aid of firearms. So, when the international community is talking about violence-free election, they are saying the election should be free of thuggery.
“You can see that the PDP is not at home with that because they imported thuggery, institutionalised it and have always fallen back on it as instrument of rigging and to dominate the electorates. So, we debunk any attempt by Atiku to change the essence of the President’s statement.
“I believe the President spoke the kind of the average Nigerian who wants to go and vote and come home in peace without fear of being attacked. You know that thuggery is synonymous with violence and the world is unanimous that violence should be removed from election.
Atiku’s rejection exposes PDP for what they are. Their plan is to deploy thugs so that the election will be impossible or reduce voter turnout.
“To say that the APC imported card reader is laughable and that the card readers have been deployed to the Southsouth and Southeast. The implication of this is, assuming it is true without conceding, it means that Atiku is working hand in hand with the ICT unit in INEC to know the kind of machines that are deployed to where.
“Recognising that INEC is Independent, we are not able to know the kind of card readers INEC is deploying or where they were imported from. But if Atiku has all of these details, it can only mean that he is working hand in hand with people within INEC to know where machines are imported from and the fact that card readers can be programmed otherwise.
“We are not like a stammers who look for a fight because they cannot win an argument. We believe that the electorates are ready to vote for us and we want those votes to take place in a free and fair atmosphere.
“I think that Nigerians should be united when it comes to the issue of a free and fair election. Our candidate is saddled with the responsibility for peace and security of Nigerians. He has the duty to ensure that the live of the Nigerian electorate is protected as well as those of the observers. That is the responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief.”
“So, if Atiku finds fault in this, if anybody is pro thuggery, we are against thuggery and we are against violence. The International community should properly decode Atiku’s statement sling the president to withdraw his threat not against the electorates, but against would be thugs or merchants of violence.
“As far as I am concern, Atiku knows that he can’t win. In 2003 elections, he lost his base in Adamawa. He is on record to have procured a senatorial seat for Prof. Jibrin Aminu. If he wants to go to court, I will meet him there and I will produce the first INEC documented report that announced the winners of those senatorial seats.”
The APC chair predicted that the PDP candidate will lose in his Adamawa home state.
“We are ready for the elections and by the grace of God, Nigerians will vote for us and Atiku will remain a permanent presidential candidate which Nigerians never had,” Oshiomhole said.
Reacting to the reports credited to Atiku and the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, Oshiomhole said: “This afternoon, we monitored the statement by the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus in which they tried to distort the message which of the President who reassured Nigerians that he has given appropriate directive to security agents to ensure that Saturday election is free and fair.
“From the response of the PDP candidate, it is clear that they have already conceded defeat. First, he claimed that he has two stronghold which he identified as Southsouth and Southeast. That is not true because I come from the Southsouth and we are not voting Atiku. We have since dismantled the PDP machine in Edo state and Edo is the heart beat of the Nation.
“Even If you take the statement in its face value, if Atiku concedes that out of six geopolitical zones, he has support not in his own zone, but Southsouth and Southeast, the voting population in these two zones are not enough to deliver the presidency to any candidate in Nigeria.”
According to him, every peace-loving Nigerian and those who wish Nigeria are yearning for fair and violent-free elections.
He said: “What the President said and we are proud that he has courage to say it that he has asked security agents to create an enabling environment for Nigerians to out and vote without fear that thugs will attack them and that security agents are going to put thugs in check. No peace loving Nigerian can find fault with that,” Oshiomhole said.
Recalling how thugs were used to rig elections when Atiku held the forte as vice president, the APC chair said: “I think it does expose PDP for what they are. Atiku as vice president to Obasanjo was there in 2003 when people were killed by thugs. In my election in 2007, three young men were shut down by PDP thugs at Oba Primary school. So, no responsible candidate will find fault with any pronouncement that tends to discourage thuggery in the coming elections.
“For a man who is aspiring to preside over Nigeria to seek protection for thuggery is uncalled for. He has already said he will grant amnesty to looters. I don’t think Nigerians have any basis to doubt that Atiku’s mission is to set Nigeria on fire so that he can become President, even If he will preside over a graveyard.”
Following the rescheduling of the presidential and National Assembly elections, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and others are working towards peaceful polls, report Sani Muh’d Sani, Sunny Nwankwo, Rasaq Ibrahim, Kolade Adeyemi, Osagie Otabor, Okungbowa Aiwerie , Bisi Olaniyi and Vincent Ikuomola
INEC warns politicians to
be cautious of utterances
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised politicians not heat up the polity.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu spoke yesterday while giving update on INEC’s preparation. He assured Nigerians and international community that the commission would ensure free and fair polls on Saturday.
He said: “While we fully understand the disappointment and even anger that followed that rescheduling of the elections on 16th February, I wish to appeal to stakeholders to be more dispassionate and circumspect in their comments in order not to overheat the polity.”
Yakubu also debunked the report that one of the National Commissioners was invited by the Department of State Security (DSS).
He said: “No commissioner of the commission was picked up by any security agency, no house of any commissioner of INEC was raided, no commissioner of INEC has been picked up by security agencies.
“The particular commissioner you are referring to that was mentioned in the social media is as we speak in his office in the commission. No six directors were picked up by any security agencies.”
Yakubu added: “All decisions of the commission are taken by the commission as an independent constitutional body and we will continue to protect and jealously guide our independence”.
Also reacting to the punishment for ballot box snatchers, the INEC boss said the commission would stand by the law which has stipulated some measures of punishment for would be offenders.
“The position of the commission is that all violators of Electoral Acts should be punished according to the provisions of the Electoral Act,” he said.
The Act stipulates two years jail term for any offender.
He said all the electoral materials have been successfully deployed to the states.
He also revealed that 95% of the Smart Cars Readers have been configured ahead of the scheduled time.
Yakubu further assured that the remaining 5% would be concluded by Wednesday.
He also said it was not true that one of the suppliers of the Smart Cars Readers was involved in the configuration process; stressing that the configuration was done entirely by the staff of the commission.
The INEC boss also said the commission has not received any complaints of missing result sheets.
According to him: “The commission is unaware that any of our result sheets have gone into the wrongs hands, yes we agreed that we deployed on Saturday but we recalled the sensitive materials and returned them to the vault of Central Bank.”
He went on: “To ensure the integrity of the process and the audit that I promised stakeholders on Saturday, we dedicated today in all the states of the federation to confirmation and verification of the materials returned to the Central Bank by political parties and other stakeholders before we begin deployment to local government from tomorrow and it is not only the EC8A- the result sheet for the polling units.
“The commission is focusing on the elections to be held on 23rd February and 2nd March 2019 to ensure that they are free, fair and credible.”
He further added: “By 4pm yesterday (Monday), all issues relating to the delivery of the materials were identified and virtually addressed. Ballot papers, result sheets and a host of non-sensitive materials are now in location across the 37 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Our state offices commenced the process of inviting stakeholders to the Central Bank of Nigeria to examine the retrieved materials deployed last week and to witness the batching of materials according to Local Government Areas. This is ongoing at the moment and is expected to be completed today Tuesday, 19th February, 2019.
“The movement of materials to LGAs for batching according to wards and polling units shall take place on Wednesday and Thursday.”
On the possibility of voting in Borno State, Yakubu said: “We have identified eight local government areas where citizens reside in IDP camps, we will afford citizens to vote in the camps based.
“For what we know elections will take place in Borno State in the substantial part of the state in a normal way, just like Nigerians will vote in other states.”
NGO demands apology from INEC, NYSC over Corps members’ plight
A pan-African youth organisation, Youngstars Development Initiative (YDI), has demanded apology from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the poor treatment of Corps members who were to work as adhoc staff in the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
NYSC members recruited as ad hoc staff for the elections, who had reported at their deployed areas across the country, were abandoned.
Reports and pictures in the media showed how the corps members slept in open fields, benches and buses across the country, with INEC not caring about their safety and other conditions.
In the statement signed by its Executive Director, Mr Kingsley Bangwell, YDI said it was “greatly disappointed at the inadequate provision by INEC for the wellbeing’’ of the corps members.
It said, “Aside from the news of the postponement, Nigerians also woke up to embarrassing pictures in different media platforms depicting the pathetic conditions under which our corps members were forced to serve.
“Feedbacks from certain quarters revealed that the list of the corps members selected for the ad hoc work was released barely 48 hours to the election without proper posting details, causing further confusion for many of them.
“Corp members were not given any document stating their benefits; there are conflicting reports of how much they would get as allowance.
“Adequate security was not provided at some of the centres across the country where many corps members arrived at on Friday, neither were there any team to receive them.’’
The organisation said the corps members were therefore forced to stay dark spaces, while some slept in open fields, benches and even in buses, with no proper arrangement for conveniences.
“Due to these gaps, the lives of the NYSC members were put at risk in the course of their service to the nation,’’ it noted.
It said the situation was unacceptable as it was “below the standards of dignity of labour and dignity of the human person.’’
“Besides tendering a joint public apology, INEC and NYSC should immediately address the logistics and welfare issues,’’ the group also demanded.
It asked INEC to formally inform the corps members of their welfare packages to avoid conflicting reports and malpractices.
On Monday, the NYSC issued a statement confirming the reported hardship suffered by the affected corps members across the country.
In the statement signed by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Adenike Adeyemi, the corps said that INEC had promised to improve on the safety and welfare provisions for the corps members.
‘CBN takes delivery of
sensitive materials in Niger’
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Minna, has taken delivery of all sensitive materials for the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections in the 25 local government areas.
Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, CBN Branch Controller, who made the disclosure in Minna yesterday, while leading the police, security agencies, leaders of various political parties and other stakeholders, to inspect the sensitive materials at the bank premises.
Ibrahim said that all the sensitive materials earlier distributed to the 25 Local Government Areas are intact for the rescheduled elections.
He said that all the retrieved sensitive materials are being kept in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for safe keeping.
He explained that the sensitive materials, comprised ballot papers and result sheets, which were earlier, distributed to the 25 LGAs for the conduct of Presidential and National Assembly elections on Feb. 16.
Also speaking, Prof. Samuel Egwu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), said that the commission would collaborate with other security agencies to ensure smooth conduct of the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
“Already, we have trained the 23,000 electoral workers and equipped them with basic electoral knowledge for the exercise,” he said.
The commissioner expressed hope that the exercise would be successful, “because we have plugged holes exploited by miscreants to cause confusion during elections.”
“We have also put in place security measures to guarantee the safety of electoral materials and our workers before, during and after the exercise,’’ he said.
Saturday is your day of reckoning, Ajimobi tells opposition
Oyo South Senatorial District candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Abiola Ajimobi, has described this Saturday as a day of reckoning for the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to reap its 16 years of misrule.
He, therefore, urged leaders and supporters of the APC to remain steadfast and faithful to the course of the ruling party by ensuring that they come out in large numbers to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari to consolidate on the gains of the past four years.
Addressing a stakeholders’ forum at the Western House, state Secretariat, on Tuesday, the governor warned against complacency, adding that the desperation of the opposition to upset the applecart was unimaginable.
Ajimobi, who attended the National Executive Committee meeting of the APC in Abuja, on Monday, said the national leadership of the party had given the state executive committees the marching orders to go and reenergise the party’s campaigns.
Ajimobi said: “The opposition had adopted all manners of subterfuge and empty rhetoric to mislead the people into supporting them without success. Our people have refused to buy into their deceits, hence their desperation and provocative statements.
“I want to appeal to you not let off your guard for a moment until victory is assured in all the elections. We should not be complacent, because the opposition is throwing everything into this election as if the world will end when, mark my word I did not say if, they lose.
“This Saturday is a day of reckoning for the PDP for its 16 years of misrule. After ruining our economy and creating many loopholes and leakages that has pauperised the people and enriched their friends they are now desperate to stage a comeback.
“The APC has invested in the people in the last four years at the national level and eight years at our state level. Abandoned infrastructure and projects have been revived, with many at different stages of completion.
“Saturday is around the corner. All APC leaders and members should go back to their various units and wards to solicit the continued support of the good people of Nigeria. That is the mandate from our meeting on Monday, in Abuja.”
Poll shift won’t save Buhari
from defeat, says Ogwuru
A member of PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Prince Tim Ogwuru, has said the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly polls would not save President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, from defeat in the 36 states of the federation.
He explained that majority of Nigerians have rejected Buhari and his party and would be ready to vote them out on February 23 and March 9 and urged INEC to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
In an interview with The Nation, Ogwuru, stated that the Buhari administration has nothing more to offer Nigerians after four years and has brought Nigeria to a ground zero, stressing that it will be criminal on the part of Nigerians for Buhari to emerge President of Nigeria after May 29, 2019.
“Buhari’s days in office are numbered and if am to advise him, he should quietly do the decent thing and not continue with the process of him getting a second term. In any case, if he ready to be humiliated out of office through the ballot box, the choice remains his and his alone. The postponement of the election won’t save him and his party, APC, from electoral demise. Nigerians are yearning for genuine and credible Barton change.
“Buhari has brought pains, frustration and suffering of a monumental proportion Nigerians. The avalanche of electoral rejection from Nigerians electorate is now unstoppable. Buhari has nothing to show for the period he has been in power.”
Rivers PDP, APC in war
of words over elections
The Rivers State chapters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are engaging in war of words over the February 23 and March 9 general elections.
The PDP Campaign Council in Rivers state, through its Director-General, Desmond Akawor, yesterday at a crowded news conference at the campaign headquarters on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, alleged that leaders of APC in Rivers were plotting to cause havoc, destabilise, rig and abort this year’s general elections in the state.
APC in Rivers, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, however, urged the peace-loving people of the state and other lovers of democracy and good governance to ignore the lies and propaganda of the frustrated leaders and members of PDP, who it said would no longer be able to rig the elections, in view of the activities of vigilant and fearless security agents.
Rivers PDP said: “The purpose of this press conference is to draw the attention of Nigerians and the international community to the plot and brazen determination of the APC to violently prevent the general elections from holding in Rivers State and scuttle the rights of our people to freely and fairly elect their leaders on the 23rd of February and 9th of March, 2019.
“While the APC and its leaders continue to publicly declare their perverted intentions to take the laws into their own hands and disrupt the general elections in Rivers State with maximum violence, neither the security agencies nor the Presidency has deemed it necessary to reprimand, investigate, caution and/or arrest and prosecute them on the possible consequences of their outrageous and inciting utterances, threats and hate speeches to the peace, public order and security of lives and property in the state.
“Instead, we have started witnessing concerted efforts by the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies, especially the Nigerian Army and the Police, to actualise both the intent and content of the dangerous agenda of the APC to truncate the electoral processes in the state, as we get closer to the elections’ dates.
“Information available to us indicates that APC has procured armed thugs, military uniforms and branded military and police vehicles for the purpose of rigging the rescheduled elections.
“Let no one take our obedience to the rule of law and constitutionality in the pursuit of our democratic rights to vote and be voted for through the electoral process as an act of cowardice, acquiescence or capitulation to intimidation, lawless behaviour and dictatorship. No one has the monopoly of violence.
“We have the capacity and the will to mobilise our teeming supporters to resist intimidation and defend the collective rights of our people in Rivers State to effectively participate in the democratic process and frustrate those who are bent on denying our democratic rights, as expressly guaranteed by our constitution.”
Rivers PDP campaign council also appreciated the patriotic members of the security agencies, who it said were daily working hard under very difficult environment to ensure the protection of lives and property, and guarantee the will of the people during the general elections in the state.
The ruling PDP in Rivers then most sincerely thanked the teeming supporters of the party in the state and other parts of Nigeria for their peaceful disposition, solidarity and comportment throughout the campaigns, which it noted held without any crisis, casualty or unpleasant consequence.
Rivers APC, however, said: “The attention of our party, the APC, has been drawn to a long litany of lies placed in the public space by the Rivers State chapter of PDP, in which outlandish falsehood was bandied as truth. We can only summarise that the PDP in Rivers State is doing exactly what the Holy Bible refers to as the guilty running when no one is pursuing.
“We hereby warn the PDP to desist from maligning innocent members of the APC, who have done nothing wrong whatsoever. We believe that the Nigerian military and police that the PDP has unfortunately chosen to malign, blackmail and insult can adequately speak for themselves. We must, however, caution the PDP that our gallant soldiers and policemen, who place their lives on the line everyday to protect us, deserve a better treatment than what the PDP has chosen to embark upon.
“As a party, we shall adequately respond to the trash the PDP has put out to the public, but may I unequivocally state that no part of that PDP text should be taken seriously, as it is mere hogwash, intended to deflate attention from the evil rigging schemes of the PDP in the coming elections.
“We will like to remind the PDP leaders in Rivers State that they should gladly accept the consequences of whatever malfeasance they sent thugs to embark upon on Saturday, February 16, 2019 (stealing of 31 card readers of INEC, which were later recovered by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Rivers State) and consequently.”
The main opposition APC in Rivers also admonished the teeming members and supporters of the party to remain focused and not to be deceived by the lies of PDP leaders in the state.
•It should not rush into an election on Saturday
It came as a shock, an intrusion into a steady resolution of the Nigerian electorate to demonstrate their civic duty to choose who will preside over the affairs of their country for the next four years. The postponement of the February 16 presidential poll served as an anti-climax to years of strategising and intra-party intrigues and politicking, deployment of persons and resources, months of barnstorming,rostrum rhetoric, arduous road trips, repartees and recriminations, grandstanding and, of course, hope.
It was also, for the electoral umpire, a grind of details. Eventually, it blew up. And the nation for the past few days has ventilated and hyperventilated, simultaneously railing at the National Electoral Commission and throwing barbs at the other party, especially between the People’s Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress.
It began at about 2am on Saturday, February 16, when the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu announced that for logistical reasons he could not allow the elections to hold. His reasons, which included bad weather and delay in delivery of electoral materials, were tenable, and it was better to put it off rather than allow a chaos in the conduct that would not only have endangered lives but would have thrown the whole exercise into doubtful credibility. It was a hard decision to ingest, but the fait accompli by definition could not be reversed.
Yet, days after the postponement, Nigerians are gradually coming round to facts that show the integrity of the election had come under the manipulative devilry of a set of Nigerians. Although Prof. Yakubu noted that the electronics card readers (ECRs) were going to be reconfigured for the new date of election, the news had not come to light that election materials and even architecture have been compromised. The full extent has not yet been revealed, but suffice it to say that the public knows enough to scandalise a nation’s conscience.
Not least is the fact that the adhoc committee put in charge of logistics had come into question. The Directorate of State Services, has reportedly invited some officials of INEC for questioning in connection with their postponed polls. Without prejudice to what they might have done or did not do, it indicates that the logistics that Prof Yakubu alluded to was a source of worry. The INEC chairman has also said he would personally oversee the logistics department, an admission that all was not well with that aspect of the commission’s preparation for the polls on Saturday.
If that hint of distrust sullies the centre, we were not surprised at stories in some of the states in the federation. For instance, in Akwa Ibom State, 63 persons were arrested who had no business with the polls, and they reportedly travelled in from the neighbouring states of Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers. According to reports, the arrested persons, who were paraded to the public and featured on the front pages of some national newspapers, also named names during interrogation by the security agencies. In Akwa Ibom State, reports also had it that some hoodlums attacked an INEC van and the personnel on board. They also burned election materials in OkotAbara Local Government Area.
In Rivers State, some miscreants dumped 31 ECRs into a bush while fleeing a security agency’s car chase. Thirty four ECRs were also found in Akwa Ibom State. In Abia State, a result sheet with the vote tallies already written was discovered.
There is also the damning allegation that a presidential candidate in league with former INEC boss plied its party branches across the 36 states with $3million (1.6 billion) each to induce electoral officials, agents and voters. It is a travesty that showcases a seedy party of our politics in the ambience of anti-corruption rhetoric and activities over the past decade.
These imply that if the election had taken place, its results would have suffered from severe credibility issues. It may have led to recriminations, a public bandying of figures and a potential constitutional crisis. Those who lose would have impugned INEC’s impartiality, while the winner would have accused losers of sour grapes. A stalemate of sanguinary implications would set Nigeria into the sort of demographic anarchy with some considering moving to safer places within and outside the country.
Already a few voices have called for interim government, and others have said that it all shows a desperation by some politicians to realise forlorn ambitions. In the heat of this, President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed his displeasure with INEC and has also warned vote riggers and those who make away with ballot boxes to skew the results in favour of their candidates. He said, “I have briefed law enforcement agencies and the military to identify hot spots and flashpoints. Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or lead thugs to disturb it (elections), maybe that would be the last unlawful action he would take. I have directed the police and the military to be ruthless.”
This assertion reflects the urgency of the moment. Although some opposition politicians, including Speaker Yakubu Dogara and PDP chairman Uche Secondus, see it as a licence to murder, we disagree. He did not order the security agencies to shoot on sight. Rather he warned the perpetrators to desist or face the reprisal of the law. Ballot snatchers are bandits and they are usually armed when they purloin ballot boxes. They are therefore armed robbers and the law is clear how to deal with armed robbers. If they collide with the law enforcement agencies, fire exchanges assure a possibility of fatalities. Again, an armed robber is no small criminal. He is an interloper of the state, a freeloader who wants to take away the country’s patrimony. It is treasonable.
The task ahead is a challenge. Prof Yakubu has said that it takes time to reconfigure the PVCs, and the exercise calls for a painstaking dedication and attention to detail. There have been accusation as well that some of the security personnel in some key states as well as INEC officials, especially the resident electoral commissioners, have been so compromised that they have to either be removed and replaced or, at worst, redeployed. The security agencies ought to investigate this, and ascertain whether these allegations are true.
It is of no value now to wonder why the security agencies had no hint of some of the clandestine machinations now being revealed, but we must now warn that the February 23 date fixed for the elections should not be seen as sacrosanct. If INEC cannot get its acts together before then, it should not feel obliged to go ahead with the polls. It would amount to a wilful journey into a crash. In light of the complications of the PVCs, the doubtful integrity of some resident electoral commissioners, the prowl of manipulators still in the sewer of our electoral system, it is better to postpone than be prone to disaster.
The postponement of the elections this past weekend was a sad confirmation of the fears of many Nigerians that electoral activity in this country is cursed by the same hand of mediocrity that has stained all aspects of life in Nigeria. For months, weeks and days before the original date set for the elections, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was resolute in his assurances that INEC was ready to go, and that all areas had been covered. Going by the excuses that poured out from INEC after the dirty deed had been done on Saturday, it seemed that no contingency had been made for the “logistical” issues that arose.
Everyone would agree that “bad weather” should not feature in a list of things likely to derail preparations for a major national event that has technically been in the works since the last elections in 2015. Not only that, alleged acts of sabotage, which likely led to fires in INEC offices in Abia, Anambra and Plateau states, are said to have also contributed to the postponement, according to INEC. From the different statements collected from INEC officials, the explanations point to an overriding desire by INEC for all election activities to begin at the same time of 8 am throughout the country, which would not have been possible last Saturday. Whether Nigerians are even now confident that this will happen on February 23, is another matter entirely.
Unsurprisingly, there have been accusations thrown from one political party to the other, and the leadership of INEC has not been spared in the blame throwing. For sure, Prof. Yakubu has to take the lion share of the blame, as the decision to postpone, and all issues leading to it, are areas within his responsibility which were not met. Faced with having staggered elections commencing at different times in different cities or outright postponement within hours to the exercise, INEC chose the latter, after arrangements had been made by people and businesses to accommodate the exercise. The action has now set a trend of unbroken election postponements since 2011 elections.
Without being unduly critical, the quality of decision making at the highest levels of government in Nigeria always leaves one grimacing, out of sheer horror. The political parties showed lack of adequate planning when they could not meet deadlines set in the INEC timetable for the elections. Many of the lists of candidates from parties were submitted later than directed, and the avalanche of court cases that followed, with the attendant drama at that level, also bit into the limited preparation time for INEC to get ballot papers ready for the 70 odd political parties participating in the elections. The sheer number of parties registered and cleared to contest is another issue that needs to be discussed.
If we were practicing true democracy in the established traditions of the developed countries we so eagerly want to emulate, then the quality of our party politics would be sophisticated enough for politicians to recognise the incredulity of registering mushroom parties at every opportunity, just to make a political point. In advanced democracies, politicians get ahead in established political parties with the force of their arguments and the profundity of their vision, coupled with an ability to sell these to the wider membership of the party and, by extension, the entire population. In Nigeria, we suffer from a dearth of options in an otherwise bountiful pool of shabby mushroom parties and unknown candidates who have no appetite for the grand scheming of the bigger parties.
Can one, for instance, imagine adopting a fixed date for every election, with our weak systems and mediocre commissions? In the United States of America, elections are held on the first Tuesday after November 1st in an election year. It is a matter of law, fuelled by confidence in a working system that guarantees delivery of materials, in spite of weather conditions. In fact, the date itself is said to have been thought out to accommodate the more agrarian population of the US, and the long journeys that some had to make to their respective county centres, which could begin from the preceding Sunday. It is not a random date, but one that takes weather, harvest and many issues of “logistics” into consideration. So also, in the United Kingdom, elections into the House of Commons are done, every five years, on the first Thursday of May, although allowances are made for snap votes, in the event of a no confidence vote on a government.
Because of politics and other factors that remove from our overall efficiency as a truly independent country, we are nowhere close to setting a date by law. To begin with, many lawful dates are already being dishonoured, like the deadline for adoption of the budget for a new fiscal year at the federal level and in many states. There is just a crippling disregard for time that leads to tangible losses, as in this case. Many statistics have emerged about the cost of Saturday’s postponement to the government and to private business. The director general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce puts these costs at $1.5 billion while renowned economist, Bismark Rewane, estimates it closer to $10 billion. But of course, we can’t even get into a conversation about how to offset those costs. We barely got little in the way of apology as it is.
The harm is in the indifference that the decision seemed to communicate. Indifference to hardship caused and expenses incurred by private citizens and the public purse. Some even say it is a new way of embezzling money and making sure that every kobo assigned for the elections disappears in a maze of logistical costs. Sensitive materials already deployed have supposedly been called back, and this recall will be at extra cost to what was projected. On the whole, it just casts suspicion on everything that happens from here onwards. If the one solace to be had is that people will be all the more watchful, then we will take it and run with it.
It is fact, that not everyone had the chance to obtain their Permanent Voters Cards before the window allowed for collection closed. If the delay had allowed for the continuation of card collection, then it may have been easier to bear. However, the delay appears to be of no benefit to the electorate, except for the unguaranteed “satisfaction” of possibly starting voting at roughly the same time countrywide. We have long been known to major in the minor in Nigeria. If the card readers are functioning as they should, and all INEC systems are sufficiently tamper-proof, it shouldn’t matter terribly whether the elections are staggered across the states or not.
That there is controversy surrounding the elections is no surprise. Neither is it a surprise that there has been a postponement. What will be really surprising is if the process continues, as re-arranged, with little or no incident. The frayed nerves of Nigerians have endured a lot in the past, and we can surely endure one more week of suspense in the ever playing drama of Nigerian society and politics. The postponement will cost some more than others, but we are all equally stained by the stigma of never getting it right the first time, of unnecessary delays and the domino effect of African time that may have been started by the same political parties now calling foul and demanding the head of the INEC chair.
Our already complicated electoral system is being affected by the lack of vision of our over 70 presidential hopefuls, most of whom lack the finesse to form sensible alliances. Instead, they complicate the electoral process with their numbers and ridiculously large ballot papers that do not present more than a few real choices. INEC and all the political parties should take this blame.
Before now, ardent supporters of the two leading political parties and other critical stakeholders in the polity relished the prospect of having the much-anticipated presidential election.
The postponement of the poll by INEC has, however, put paid to all that. The rumpus caused by the sudden decision of INEC to postpone the election has continued to reverbrate across and beyond the land. While some are berating INEC for what they consider ‘a coup against democracy’, others are actually applauding the electoral body for taking what they consider ‘a bold decision’. This divergence of views is not to be unexpected considering the conflicting political interests of those concerned and the interface of other such variables in the on-going political tussle in the country.
The main pre-occupation of this piece, however, is to examine what might be the possible cost of the postponed general election on the country, political parties and individuals. To begin with, the abrupt putting off of the election has, without a doubt, done much havoc to the not too admirable global image of our country. Being the most populous Black country in the world, much is expected of Nigeria in terms of strict adherence to global best practice.
Sadly, however, INEC’s handling of the deferred election do not in any way portray our nation in good stead. It is, therefore, not surprising that the sudden deferment of the election has further dented our global mage as a country of frivolous and superficial people. Nigeria has now become an object of ridicule across the world. What is particularly puzzling to the world is why a nation of over 170 million people could not successfully plan to hold an election that has been on the card for over four years.
This, certainly, is a bad commentary on our country and it is enough for us to lose whatever honour and integrity we have within the international community. The argument is that if highly volatile nations such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq could hold elections, it leaves much to be desired that the reverse is in reality the case here.
Also, INEC itself has come out of the poll shift’s controversy more battered than before. The truth of the matter is that it is difficult to completely shield the electoral umpire from culpability in respect of the poll shift. Without a doubt, INEC’s image as a competent electoral body has been grossly undermined. It will be recalled that the 2011 and 2015 were respectively shifted by diverse number of days. This shows that INEC has a rich history of ineptitude and this does not in any way help its image. It is left to be seen how the electoral body hope to wriggle itself out of the negative tag of lame duck it has been dubbed in certain quarters.
The postponement also has far reaching implications for political parties in respect of electioneering campaigns, planning, logistics and financing. Previously, most of the candidates aspiring for various political offices have zeroed their budgeting and other associated matters on the initial election dates as earlier announced by INEC. The poll shift has brought additional financial strains on the aspirants and their political parties. With the reality of the current economic situation in the country, having to extend campaign programmes and plans for another few days can only add additional financial burden on the political parties and their aspirants.
On the social scene, the postponement also gravely complicates things for event managers and planners as they now have to alter previous plans and make fresh ones. The loss in this respect is not by any means negligible. In some cases, invitation cards have been printed and widely distributed while various souvenirs have been produced at huge cost. The implication is that, based on the current reality, new plans and arrangements have to be made. It is like starting all over again and at no mean cost.
Perhaps more importantly, with regards to the national economy, the last minute postponement of the election could, according to financial experts, cost the nation around $10 billion (N3.6 trillion), two percent of 2018 Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This amount was arrived at after
carefully considering varied cost of the postponement. The postponement cost is derived from dividing the country’s $427 billion GDP in 2018 by $1.16 billion. The cost of the postponement on INEC’s budget is also mindboggling. The electoral body’s budget for the four-week election was initially put at N189 billion. However, with the latest development, financial experts are of the view that INEC must now make extra budgetary provision in excess of N47 billion.
In terms of business losses, especially with regards to private business interests, the implication of having total paralysis in sectors such as aviation and hospitality for two consecutive weekends is, to say the least, staggering. This is, indeed, escalated by the fact that the announcement for the postponement occurred on the very day the poll was to be held, thereby sharply disrupting various economic calculations. For instance, many people have traveled long distances just to participate in the electoral process. Equally, many educational institutions had to in the interim close down for the duration of the election.
This ultimately leads us to the whole question of the huge cost of conducting elections in our country which experts claim is among the most expensive in the world. India, the largest democracy in the world doesn’t spend as much as we do on the conduct of election. Experts
opine that N189 billion approved for the 2019 polls far exceeds the total capital outlay of education and health in the 2019 national budget. When this is considered alongside the total sum of N242 billion granted for INEC and relevant security agencies for the conduct of the general polls, it will be realized that much goes into the conduct of elections in our nation.
It is hoped that the poll shift would significantly assist INEC in organizing a seamless election that Nigerians across all divides would be proud of. It is precisely in doing this that the already tense political atmosphere in the country could be sufficiently diffused. On a final note, it is hoped that all vital stakeholders in the country’s electoral process would see the need to embrace peace before, during and after the whole process.
The Department of State Security ( DSS ) has not invited any National Commissioner or any top electoral official, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Tuesday.
A section of the media reported on Tuesday morning that the National Commissioner on Logistics, Dr Okechukwu Ibeanu, for questioning.
But INEC’s National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakbubu, said there was nothing like that.
He warned politicians on the need to be cautious in their utterances so as not to heat up the polity.
Yabuku spoke while giving updates on INEC preparation to stakeholders in Abuja.
He also declared the commission has successfully deployed all the materials to states across the federation.
He reiterated its preparedness to conduct credible elections come Saturday and on March 9.
He also revealed that 95 percent of the Smart Card Readers have been reconfigured ahead of the scheduled time.
Yakubu further assured the remaining 5 percent will be concluded by Wednesday.
He also said it was not true that one of the suppliers of the Smart Cars Readers was involved in the configuration process, stressing that the configuration was done entirely by the staff of the commission.
The INEC boss also said that the commission has not received any complaint of any missing result sheets from any part of the nation.
He assured that the commission will do all it has to do to ensure that Saturday polls went well and is free, fair and credible.
Update Later…
Mr Kassim Gaidam, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa, on Tuesday, allayed the fears of the people over insecurity, stressing that the forthcoming elections in the state would be peaceful.
He described as false, the notion in some quarters that the elections could be hampered by insecurity.
Gaidam, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Yola, said that Adamawa had been calm and peaceful in recent times.
The REC said, “We have been holding regular meeting with relevant security agencies ahead of the Feb. 23 and March 9 polls.
“The state is calm, we do not have bombing here again and we only hope the situation remains so.
“Security situation in Adamawa is peaceful; the few cases of attempt to cause violence in the Northern region of the state have been nipped in the bud by security operatives.
“The people always support security operatives; their vigilance in alerting the security agencies makes it impossible for miscreants to hatch their plans to disrupt electoral process.
“There is also high level of cooperation among security agencies in Adamawa. Their collaboration is encouraging and we hope it continues before and after the general election.”
He described the traditional and religious institutions, youths and women groups, in the state, as indispensable partners in the maintenance of peace, adding that they had been contributing to peaceful atmosphere, so far.
The REC solicited the continued support and cooperate of the institutions concerned with the commission to build confidence and promote people’s participation in electoral processes.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against compromising its integrity and neutrality in the deployment of ad hoc workers for the forthcoming general elections.
The party’s State Chairman Bashir Bolarinwa said the party got information that those posted across the state as Electoral Officers (EOs) and technical workers were nominated and trained by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He also cited the case of an EO who was caught hiding boxes of ballot papers in an office in Kwara North by a vigilant Department of State Service (DSS) officer.
The APC chairman recalled that when the EO was forced to open the office by the DSS office, he admitted to hiding the boxes but claimed it was a mistake.
He said: “We have also been inundated with the information that the technical workers in particular, most of whom are trained Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts, are known PDP members and are under strict instructions to manipulate the card readers in favour of the PDP.
“It is totally unacceptable that INEC, which is the umpire, will work in cahoots with any political party or even accept a list of ad hoc workers from the parties. We are, therefore, calling on security agencies to put all INEC workers under strict surveillance to forestall any attempt to compromise them.
“On our part, we will also ensure that the process is not compromised by tainted workers.
“As we have always said, we want a level-playing field for all political parties contesting the elections in the state. It is only then the people can most freely exercise their franchise and the party, which has the support of the people, will emerge victorious.”
Bolarinwa urged the INEC to make available to the parties the record of sensitive materials it would deploy to all local government areas and wards ahead of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
He noted that this would enable the parties to know what is deployed, adding that it would forestall any attempt by desperate politicians bent on rigging the elections.