|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The current leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not new to controversy.
With just 11 months since he assumed office, the Mahmood Yakubu-led electoral body has taken many controversial decisions. In less than one year, the number of inconclusive elections conducted under Yakubu’s watch has surpassed that of all his predecessors, with critics and social media enthusiasts changing the name of the electoral umpire to Inconclusive National Electoral Commission. The professor of political history and international studies assumed office on October 21, 2015.
For instance, in the aftermath of last year’s general election, the Commission had conducted 163 elections, 21 of which were inconclusive.
The latest controversy rocking the commission is the postponement of Edo governorship election, earlier scheduled for September 10. The postponement came a day after the police and Department of State Services (DSS) announced their intention to pull out of the exercise, citing security concerns. After initially insisting that it would be costly to shift the poll with 97 percent readiness, the Yakubu-led INEC finally buckled.
Some of the questions begging for answers include: how come the Nigeria Police and DSS in Edo State assured stakeholders in Benin of their preparedness to provide security for the September 10 exercise while the Force PRO and representatives of DSS in Abuja went public with intelligence report calling for the postponement of the election? Why didn’t the security agencies in Abuja reach out to INEC and stakeholders in confidence before going public? Why would massive security personnel on ground in Benin not feel the apprehension of the Abuja security personnel?
Why would President Buhari and his entourage visit Benin the same week of the election if there were security concerns as claimed? Was the postponement meant to save the APC national chairman John Odigie-Oyegun and President Buhari of embarrassment? How come election was successfully conducted in Borno State – the epicentre of Boko Haram activities – yet poll could not hold in a peaceful state like Edo because of ‘security concerns’?
Coincidentally, the same scenario that played out in the 2015 general elections, which was postponed by the then People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government by six weeks, is being re-enacted.
Coincidentally also, last year’s polls were postponed due to security concerns. As it would later turn out, the former ruling party lost the polls.
However, the shift in the Edo governorship election has raised serious concerns over the preparedness of the electoral body in conducting the 2019 general elections, as the Commission is accused of being teleguided by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
While some political observers say the Commission is legally right to postpone the election, they posit that the electoral umpire is morally wrong to do so, considering the fact that Edo is one of the most peaceful states not only in the Niger Delta region but also in the South-South geopolitical zone where there is no threat to peace.
But another school-of-thought believes adjusting the dates of the election is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act. They argue that INEC is the only body empowered by the law to reschedule, shift or postpone elections.
Relying on Section 26(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (amended), they posit that the law empowers the Commission to shift election in the event of breach of peace.
The provision states that: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another date for the holding of the postponed election provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable.”
To legal experts, rescheduling the September 10 poll is in tandem with Section 132 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), so long as it is held not less than 30 days before the expiration of tenure of the governor Adams Oshiomhole on November 12, hence the Edo election must be held on or before October 14.
An election observer, Richard Akinnola, who was already in the state when the exercise was shifted, lamented that the cost of the postponement would be huge financial burden on the Commission, considering the fact that the Commission was 97percent ready for the exercise.
Already, non-sensitive materials had been distributed across the 18 local government areas, even as sensitive materials were already in custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and about being distributed when the exercise was shifted.
According to Akinnola, irrespective of who wins the governorship election, the credibility of the result will be in doubt.
He wondered why security agencies cannot checkmate activities of Boko Haram in just one out of the 36 states of the Federation.
Reacting to the development, the gubernatorial candidate of the Progressives People’s Alliance (PPA) Thomas Sadoh, said a script is being acted by those afraid of the outcome of the election, adding that what INEC had done was to postpone PPA’s victory at the polls and delay the inevitable defeat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
An Abuja-based legal practitioner Kayode Ajulo, submitted that postponement of Edo gubernatorial election not only portends ominous signs for democracy but also an indictment of the nation’s security managers.
“Security is one of the primary responsibilities of Nigeria government as enshrined in the 1999 constitution as amended. It is a wakeup call to electoral stakeholders to come together to appraise the election preparation and procedures”, he told BDSUNDAY in an interview.
But defending the postponement, state APC chairman Anslem Ojezua, stressed that life is sacrosanct and that this takes precedence over any other consideration. He exonerated the party of any blame, saying it was already gearing up for victory before it was shifted.
On its part, the PDP has described the postponement as a coup. The opposition party argued that there is no justification to tamper with the election as initially scheduled.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the Ahmed Makarfi-led group of the party, Dayo Adeyeye, said the shift in the polls signals a bad signal for the nation’s democracy.
Adeyeye called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to conduct a non-partisan holistic investigation of the national security apparatus.
The development, the party alleged, is an “ingenious attempt to buy time for the APC”, knowing full well that it would lose the poll should it be conducted on the earlier date.
It described the postponement as not only illegal but also unconstitutional and a breach of the peoples’ trust in the Commission and the security agencies.
“It is shameful and indeed a major constitutional breach for the security agencies to act in concert with the APC to truncate an Election that had been planned for months. Nigerians were not deceived by the obvious concoctions of the security agencies whose performances during elections have been less than average since the advent of the Buhari Administration. Indeed they have become instruments in the hands of the ruling party to harass, intimidate and punish opponents.
“The postponement of the Election by INEC is a coup against the people of Edo State in particular and Nigerians in general. Since APC assumed power, virtually all elections conducted by INEC have either been inconclusive or truncated. Saturday’s Election in Edo State must be an exemption. We will not accept anything less than free, fair and transparent election conducted and concluded the same day. INEC must rise to the occasion to restore the confidence of Nigerians in its operations. Edo is a test case. With the way INEC is performing, how are we sure that it would be able to handle the 2019 national elections. Our democracy is under a serious threat from the APC and its Gestapo security agencies,” the statement reads.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE
