Guber race: Fresh moves to avert violence in Bayelsa, Kogi

In response to fresh fears of possible violence in Bayelsa and Kogi states during the November 16, 2019 governorship elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, political parties and other stakeholders are forging new collaborations to ensure free and peaceful polls, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu

FOLLOWING fresh fears that the November 16, 2019 governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states are being threatened by alleged plots by some elements to instigate violence, concerned stakeholders are taking steps to ensure free and fair elections in the states.

The Nation learnt during the week that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is aware of the fears and may have set up schemes to collaborate with relevant security operatives, local and international collaborators to ensure peaceful elections.

A source close to the INEC office in Bayelsa State said in confidence on Friday that “the commission has already taken concrete steps to ensure peaceful elections in Bayelsa and Kogi. INEC is not taking any chances in November. The chairman and the other leaders of the commission had assured that the November elections would be the most peaceful ever in the respective states.” Urged to explain the steps so far taken, the source said, “It is not yet time to explain in details the steps so far taken, but suffice it to say that high level talks with important stakeholders are already being held in the two states and in Abuja, I can confirm. It has been suggested that constructive dialogue and preemptive training are part of the most effective strategies that must be adopted if INEC hopes to conduct a peaceful, free and fair elections in Bayelsa and Kogi. If you have followed the developments in the two states, and if you have taken into cognizance the history of elections in Bayelsa in particular, you will understand why INEC is not prepared to take chances.”

Also confirming the fears and the commission’s readiness to take the bull by the horn, INEC’s National Commissioner for Plateau, Niger and FCT, Professor Antonia Simbene, told The Nation earlier in the week that the commission has commenced what she described as some “peace advancing activities in Bayelsa and Kogi states to forestall violence in the forthcoming elections in the states.”

We quoted the commissioner earlier in the week as saying: “We are expecting two difficult elections later this year in Kogi and Bayelsa states where we tend to be faced by election violence. In the case of one of the states, there are difficult terrains but in the other one, there is high level of violence and we are hoping to quell it before the elections.

“To this end, we are putting in place activities, especially peace advancing activities, to ensure that the kind of violence that we have experienced in the past do not come to play during the elections.”

Besides INEC, other important organisations have shown concern over future elections in the country, especially the Bayelsa and Kogi states elections, which are the next major elections in the country.

One of such organisations is the United Nations (UN) which sent a high powered delegation to INEC during the week and offered to assist the country in her efforts to reform her electoral process. This, according to some informed observers, is in reaction to INEC’s recent proposal to open up dialogue on Nigeria’s electoral process.

Led by Mr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa, the UN delegation told Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC management at the commission’s headquarters, that INEC’s planned dialogue with stakeholders was commendable, even as it described it as “a step in the right direction.”

“I want to say this is a step in the right direction. During electoral process, Nigerians, several Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and international observer missions submitted several reports. At the end of the day, it is our understanding that INEC is taking all of these very serious. And the INEC Chairman has said he wants to engage in a structured conversation again to address some of these challenges, which were faced during last elections,” he said.

Responding, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said “We hope to conclude the ongoing review of the 2019 general elections in the next two months. These reviews have become standard practice by the commission, and they involve all stakeholders across the electoral process.

“Consequently, we have commenced debriefings with all our field workers to learn from them the successes and challenges we all faced in the planning and implementation of the general elections. We will also hold extensive meetings with political parties, the civil society, security agencies, the media, as well as other stakeholders as part of the commission’s commitment to the continuous improvement of the electoral process in Nigeria,” Yakubu said.

We gathered that since the governorship elections were postponed to November 16 by INEC, the tempo of political activities has also picked up even as more aspirants threw their hats on the ring. Ironically, the increased activities seem to have led to increased ripples within the parties, especially the leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It is interesting to note that while Bayelsa is currently governed by PDP with APC determined to take over, Kogi is currently governed by APC with PDP desperate to take over. But insiders confirmed during the week that in the two states, it appears tension is more within the ruling parties. Ozidi Mohammed, a political commentator in Kogi State, for example, said “Unless something tangible is done, APC’s chance of retaining the state is threatened. The in-fighting has clearly weakened the party so much that it will take hard work and intelligent last minutes strategy for the ruling party to retain power.”

Just this Friday, it was also reported that some members of Kogi All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of Justice Forum warned the party to work hard if it wants to retain power, alleging that “the party has greatly lost ground” in the state.

The report quoted the forum’s spokesperson, Dr. Goodman Akwu, as issuing the warning in Idah at a meeting with some APC governorship aspirants from the Kogi East Senatorial District.

He said there was the need to “revive the party everybody laboured to build in 2014, but which has been hijacked by some hawks, away from hardworking party members”.

“What is happening in the state now within the party is directly opposite of the vision and mission of the founding fathers, to the extent that it’s slogan, ‘Justice and Progress’, is turned upside down to ‘injustice and backwardness’, he alleged.

He traced the origin of the party’s challenge to the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the leader and the party’s flagbearer in the 2015 Kogi governorship election.

Justice Forum’s meeting in the zone, he said, was “induced by the emergency of the moment, which is aimed at reclaiming the original APC that brought the present mandate, for it to stand firmly on its feet as the November 16 governorship election gathers momentum.

“We are also here to form synergy and come out with a bloc vote to win the forthcoming governorship primary election.”

The concern of most APC members in the state notwithstanding, Gov. Yahaya Bello, said he was not losing sleep over winning his reelection in November. “I am the governor today and Insha Allah, l will return back as the governor for another four years, after the November 16 election.

“As for the ticket, the analogy is that the tenant cannot send the landlord out of his house. So, APC in Kogi State was rebuilt by me, after the good job done by our late leader, His Excellency, Prince Abubakar Audu.

“After his demise, l came, rebuilt it from the scratch to what it is today. That is evident in the last outing of the party where we had 25/25, in the State House of Assembly,” he said

For Bayelsa State, which is noted as one of the main states were extreme violence has been recorded during elections, elders have been working round the clock to ensure peaceful polls this time around even as the members of PDP and opposition APC continue to spit fire and brimstone.

This face-off notwithstanding, the Bayelsa State chapter of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to boast that it would win the governorship election in November.

The Chairman of the party in the state, Cleopas Moses in a statement in Yenagoa in March, said the PDP was ready for the election and confident of a resounding victory provided the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would conduct a free and fair poll.

He said Bayelsa remains a PDP state. “The truth is that Bayelsa is PDP and PDP is Bayelsa and where ever elections actually held, we won. Wherever INEC declared the opposition party winner, know that it was either there was no election and results were produced or there were elections but results were manipulated.”

While verbal cross fire continues between PDP and APC in these two states, concerned observers are glad that relevant bodies have come up to seek peace in earnest.