All eyes on INEC

As Nigerians cast their votes in the presidential and National Assembly polls today, all eyes will be on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Will it deliver the credible elections INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has promised? ROBERT EGBE asks.

FEMI Erinjogunola should not have had any reason not to cast his vote when this year’s polls get underway from 9 am today. The Graphics Artist and Judo aficionado registered for and obtained his Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) four years ago, just before the 2015 polls. But sometime last year, he noticed that his picture on the card had faded away, following which he lodged a complaint and applied for another one at INEC’s Mushin, Lagos office.

“The officials noted my complaint, collected the damaged PVC and issued me a slip of paper. They promised to notify me as soon as the new card is ready,” Erinjogunola said. But they never did until last Wednesday, at exactly 6pm, when he got a text message, asking him to come for his PVC. He said: “When I got there, it was another story entirely. My name was not on the list of those whose cards were ready. They asked me and some others to come back for our PVCs after the elections.” Disenfranchised voters, unclaimed PVCs Erinjogunola’s story is not unique. There are probably hundreds of thousands like him around the country who fall within the same category, compulsorily disenfranchised by imperfections in the INEC’s system.

There are also other categories: would-be voters who registered for PVCs but were put off by the sometimes stressful collection process, among other reasons. Since late last year, INEC has been raising the alarm about millions of unclaimed PVCs in many states across the country. On January 16, it moved about one million unclaimed Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) to 245 wards in Lagos State to make collection easier for their owners. INEC facilities going up in smoke But recently, unclaimed PVCs have been the least of INEC’s immediate worries. Last Tuesday, 4,695 smart card readers were destroyed by fire that razed INEC’s facility in Anambra State. It was the third fire incident affecting INEC in 12 days, following closely behind those of INEC’s offices in lsiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of  Abia State and Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State. Some of the items destroyed in Isiala Ngwa included 2979 PVCs and other materials. At the Qua’an Pan office, items destroyed included 5987 uncollected PVCs, 380 Voting Cubicles, 755 ballot boxes, 14 generators, election forms and official stamps.

How impartial is INEC? Last Wednesday, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole accused INEC of working for the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Oshiomhole alleged that two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the South-South were seen campaigning with the PDP during the electioneering. He said: “As we speak, there are two Resident Electoral Commissioners who are virtually campaigning line by line with the PDP in the South-South. “INEC, without giving us any explanation and without any concrete evidence, went ahead to say we can’t field candidates in Zamfara, thereby seeking to award, without any context, and nullify democracy in Zamfara State. “Is that the way your friends behave if they are your friends? INEC is working more for the PDP, based on evidence I can show. How can they explain that a court of competent jurisdiction gave orders in Zamfara to say this candidate is eligible to contest election and another high court in Abuja also gave a verdict saying APC did not conclude its primaries but did not give order to INEC? “There is no order issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The Court of Appeal made a pronouncement on this matter today that there was no order from the court in Abuja, but that there was a concrete order from a Zamfara High Court which upheld the primaries that was conducted in Zamfara. “The INEC Chairman has said that when there are two court orders, they will adopt the last judgment. In Zamfara State, the Abuja judgment came first and the Zamfara judgment came last even though it is the same say. “More as INEC has said they will always obey the last judgment when it came to the Zamfara issue, they changed the goal post. As media, you have to be careful. When you say people alleged there were meetings and can’t even cite any, it is a disservice.

We have been at the receiving end of abuse. “There is a candidate in Kano whose nomination we forwarded to INEC, but they changed the nomination and as we speak, we are in court over that. We showed our evidence.” We are impartial, says INEC But the commission denied the claims of collusion with any party to breach the polls. Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, called on Oshiomhole to provide proof of his allegations. Oyekanmi said: “It is not true that the Independent National Electoral Commission is working hand in gloves with any political party to do the wrong things. The issue of Zamfara and Rivers are well known. “In the case of Zamfara, the commission had written to the APC leadership to notify it that, due to its inability to conduct its primaries in Zamfara State within the stipulated time as required by law, the party cannot field candidates for the governorship election.

Thereafter, two cases were instituted in court resulting in two rulings which were delivered the same day. The commission then adopted one of the rulings. “In the case of Rivers, it was the Supreme Court that took a final decision on the fate of APC. Therefore, both cases were purely judicial and INEC, being a law abiding institution, will always obey court orders/judgment.” Safety of NYSC members Last December 19, two United States-based political institutes National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) – expressed worries over the general elections.

They said Nigeria’s persistent insecurity and the perception about the lack of neutrality on the part of security forces could undermine voter participation and confidence in the outcome of next year’s polls. Several local analysts have also raised concerns about break out of violence in the elections, which could affect INEC staff, especially members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), among others. Seven corps members were killed in Bauchi State during the violence that erupted after the 2011 general election. Also, one corps member was killed in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State during the legislative rerun election in the state in March of 2016. However, the NYSC DirectorGeneral, Suleiman Kazaure, assured corps members last November 6 that those who chose to work with INEC during the polls would not be sent to volatile areas. Kazaure, a Brigadier-General in the Nigerian Army, gave this assurance when he visited the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun State. “I want to also state it here that no corps member will be used as ad-hoc staff in the volatile regions during the elections as their safety is of paramount concern to the scheme,” he said. 91 parties, 84m voters: Is INEC ready? The general elections will be contested by 56 out of 91 registered political parties and a total voting population of 84,004,084. According to INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, the polls will hold in 1,558 Constituencies and 774 Local Government Areas throughout the federation.

“The collation of results will take place in 8, 809 Registration Areas/Wards and in 119, 973 Polling Units and 57, 023 Voting Points nationwide,’’ he said. The Presidential Election will be contested by 73 candidates, while the Governorship election will feature 1,068 candidates in 29 states. “The 109 Senate seats will be contested by 1,904 candidates, while the 360 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested by a total of 4, 680 candidates. “The 991 State Constituency elections will be contested by a total of 14, 583 candidates. The 68 Area Council seats in the Federal Capital Territory will be contested by 806 candidates,’’ he said. The commission will also conduct Area Council elections in the FCT, Abuja. “A total of 806 candidates will contest the election. This will involve 105 Chairmanship candidates and 701 Councillorship candidates.” Logistics hitches The logistics requirements of conducting such critical elections are bound to be huge. In previ ous elections, there were several cases of logistical hitches.

This time round, can INEC fulfill its logistical duties? Are ballots going to be delivered to polling places on time? Will polling places open on time? How INEC will cope But INEC Chairman Prof Yakubu is not perturbed. He believes that several measures implemented by the agency will forestall any serious crisis. He assured Nigerians that their votes will count. Yakubu spoke when he received a delegation of the Commonwealth Observers Group led by former Tanzanian President, Dr Jakaya Kikwete, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. He stressed that the Commonwealth in its report on the 2015 general election made 32 recommendations, including the adoption of Simultaneous Accreditation and Voting System.

The INEC boss said the commission had looked into the recommendations and implemented those within its power administratively, while those requiring amendment of the Constitution and Electoral Act had been sent to the appropriate authorities. Yakubu added that INEC had conducted 194 off-season elections with simultaneous accreditation and voting system, which is now part of election guidelines issued by the commission. The commission also said it had made other arrangements to make the elections peaceful around the country. For instance, INEC said it hired 1,700 buses for election duty in Enugu state for today’s elections. The commission said it would hire more than 10 trailers to move heavy materials and equipment before, during and after the polls – Enugu state currently has 1,942,776 registered voters, 4,146 voting locations and 260 political wards.