OPEN LETTER TO INEC CHAIRMAN CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC)
“The Process is more Important than the Person”
Dear Professor,
THAT HISTORY MAY NOT FORGET YOU, EITHER FOR GOOD OR BAD; AN OPEN LETTER TO Prof. Attahiru JEGA, THE CHAIRMAN OF INEC, AHEAD OF THE 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS.
Introduction:
Just as I wrote a similar letter to Mr. President on the 10 th February 2015 in respect to this same National Issue- The 2015 General Elections (Specifically on the Presidency), permit me to also share my views and opinions ahead of the election while the necessary pre-election activities/preparations are ongoing. I must sincerely appreciate your developmental strides and the successes achieved as the Chairman of the commission since 8 th April 2010, when you resumed office as the Chairman of the commission. It is a statement of fact that under your charismatic leadership and effective coordination of INEC, Nigeria elections has witnessed tremendous medals, before the local and International observers; indeed, you have reclaimed the trust and set a pace for your successor, when compared to previous Chairmen, in Maurice Iwu (2005-2010) , Abel Guobadia (2000-2005), Ephraim Akpata (1998-1999), Sumner Dagogo-Jack (1994-1998), Prof. Okon Uya (1993-1994), Humphrey Nwosu (1989-1993), Eme Awa (1987-1989), Victor Ovie-Whiskey ( 1983), Michael Ani (1976-1979), Eyo Esua (1960-1966) respectively.
My choice to share this letter is thus to remind you that a lot of people are pleased with your coordination and will feel highly disappointed if you reduce standard and falter in principle, values or compromise standard come the 2015 general elections, most especially the Presidential election, where you double as the Returning Officer. The purpose of making this a public letter is to enable pro-democracy individuals bear the witness that you were advised both in private and public to register your name in history as one, who ensured that this nation remained 'United after the polls' or 'disunited in unity after the poll' as a result of Post-election crisis which became 'necessary' because of the popular aphorism that “Those who make peaceful change impossible, makes violent ones inevitable”. To me, just like other patriotic Nationalists and Progressive minded Nigerians: The Process is more important than the Person .
Kindly accept the medium through which I share this, I wasn't best sure you will receive it via courier, but I am confident that your email and twitter social media platform is faster with higher percentage of certainty that it will get to you also, in good health and sound of mind.
I STRONGLY write you this letter so that you will kindly allow the meticulous recorder of man's actions and inactions-History- to write your name in history for GOOD and not otherwise.
My Issues with you, Mr. Chairman:
THE SIX (6) WEEKS POSTPONEMENT of THE 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS.
Your statements on your level of preparedness ahead of the earlier fixed date (14 th February) while leaving the Council of State meeting at the Presidential Villa called for a thorough review when compared to various status reports (though unofficial from INEC) but the substantial facts remains that over 33% of the Nigerian Registered voters are yet to collect their Permanent Voter's Cards. How true the other elements of the reports are, may be uncertain: that the training manuals for ad hoc staffs were not ready, presiding officers are also yet to be trained, 700,000 ad-hoc staff not recruited yet, PVCs still being printed abroad, RECs yet to print Voter Register, printers for Register still in Abuja, no full complement of ballot boxes, fake printing ink sent to states from headquarters rejected, many States yet to get balance of card readers. It is a truism that, the simple inference from all of these is that the electoral body may not be ready if these reports are the truth. While I hold very few percentage accuracy and precision on all of these, the electoral body will do the Nigerian people much good to make amends as fast as possible, if they are indeed true anyway! The electoral body should also maximise the vantage opportunity of this time shift to ensure that all is addressed before the 6weeks is reached. For the Records: NIGERIANS WILL NOT APPRECIATE ANY SHIFT AGAIN and INEC MUST ENSURE AN INTEGRITY CHECK TO SUSTAIN THE ELECTORAL TRUST SHE IS ENJOYING.
Reminding you of your words Mr. Chairman,
“Other variables equally crucial for successful conduct of the 2015 general elections that are outside the control of INEC” had prompted the deferment of the general election. One important variable is security for the elections. While the commission has a very good working relationship with all security agencies, especially on the platform of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) since its inception in 2010, it has become pertinent for it to seriously consider the security advisory presented to it by the security and intelligence services,”.
My inference herewith is that the shift was based on security report squarely and that the Anti-Terror Security Arm of the Nigeria Army has some operations slated for those times, especially in the North Eastern States of the Federal Republic where over 200 school girls have been kidnapped for over 200days and they cannot be located, with serial bombings, displacement of poor people and killings of over 100,000 people. You and I know that the wrongs cannot be made right within the 6weeks. Or are you saying that the Nigeria Army can reunite these missing girls with their family members within 6weeks?, Can they fish out and kill all the terrorists within 6weeks? Will the Nigeria Army withdraw 'All Troops' for the general election come 28 th March 2015 and 11 th April 2015? The simple answer is NO. Therefore, the shift on security reason is as good as a gimmick to cover up some things hidden to the average Nigerian- Importantly, the May 29 Handover Date Must Stand.
THE 21 st JUNE 2014 EKITI GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION AND POST-ELECTION MATTERS ARISING:
Chairman, the process of the 21 st June 2014 election was said to be free and fair, at the earliest instance of the post-election period, only to be shocked by some revealing revelations in respect to the pre-election build up between the Security and the INEC, as made publicly known via the heart-breaking audio/video evidences of SaharaTV (an online African news media home) www.saharareporters.com/videos/nigerian-army-captain-who-secretly-recorded-ekiti-rigging-plan-explodes and www.soundcloud.com/saharareporters/secret-meeting-that-led-to-the-rigging-of-ekiti-gubernatorial-for-fa . The connotation of this is that the build-up to the said 'free and fair' election has been fraudulent, a compromise between INEC, the Security Forces and the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Ayodele Fayose (As revealed in the audio recording). The pre-election was bias and 'sensitive materials' as said released by INEC to the PDP/Mr. Fayose in the audio excerpt were later assumed to be the Photochromic ballot used during the election. There is no doubt in your sincerity, strong political goodwill, charismatic leadership prowess, discipline, courage and firm believe in a credible democratic process, but I am sad to inform you that you need to do more in sanitizing the system and check/keep tabs on your lieutenants, so that they don't compromise your standard. At the long run, Prof. Attahiru Jega (INEC Chairman) name will be mentioned in history as a failure of the Nigerian State, not anyone, who we don't also know. You aren't going to be everywhere during this election, but the character of all your State Resident Electoral Commissioners, is as good as yours before the good people of Nigeria, who believes so much in the credibility of the process; The process which is more important to them than the person who may eventually win.
It will be unfair to bow to pressure as the INEC boss, if the House of Representatives adopt the parliamentary skill, to compel the commission to conduct election using the Temporary Voter's Card, when over 63% of the registered voters have gotten the permanent voter's card. The adoption of the Temporary Voter's Cards will disallow effective monitoring of genuine cards from the cloned ones and considering the sensitivity of this election, I strongly advise that Mr. INEC Chair use your vested power (outside of judicial proclamation) to recline/reject the motion for the sake of the credibility of the process, since it is evidently clear that over 70% would have collected the PVCs before the expiration of the 6weeks shift.
ON THE DEPLOYMENT OF NIGERIAN TROOPS (SOLDIERS) FOR ELECTIONS. I want to bring to your notice and attention that a Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto on Thursday 29 th January 2015, ruled against the deployment of the military for elections' security. The judgment in this suit instituted by Hon. Bello Goronyo and Hon. Umar Mode, against the Attorney General of the Federation and your esteemed organisation, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was delivered upon an Originating Summons dated October 22, 2014. I am therefore affirmative that it will be contempt of the Temple of Justice and the law, if you, Mr. Chairman deliberately go against this landslide ruling.
Humbly quoting the ruling, Justice Mohammed stated: “I hereby declare that in view of the combined provisions of sections 217(2) and 218(1) and (4) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered) any person holding the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria cannot, in the absence of an act of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria unilaterally order the engagement of armed forces in the security supervision of elections in Nigeria.
“I hereby declare that any purported engagement of the Nigerian armed forces in the security supervision of elections in the federal republic of Nigeria by any person holding the office of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria without an act of the National Assembly shall be unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
“I hereby declare that the use of the word “officers” in section 29(1)(2) of the electoral act 2010 (as amended) does not entail the use of the officers of the armed forces by the 2nd defendant.
“I hereby make an order restraining any person holding the office of the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of Nigeria and the 2nd defendant from engaging or permitting the service of the Nigerian armed forces in the security supervision of elections in any manner whatsoever in any part of Nigeria, without an act of the National Assembly.”
HOW CAN WE HAVE A POST-ELECTION CRISIS FREE ELECTION? I will bullet my views about how we can have violence-free post election activities, for the sake of clarity:
Ensure a credible process throughout the election. That a peace accord has been signed doesn't mean that there will be post-election peaceful conduct. If the elections are fraudulent, the fanatical followers will definitely cause havoc on properties and lives. It is a statement of fact, considering the electoral history of our nation.
The elections should be announced at every polling units
Military Troops shouldn't be deployed for elections. The Ekiti experience has vividly shown that Nigerian politicians in connivance with some retrogressive elements in INEC are using the military to rig election.
INEC should review campaign activities of candidates/parties as empowered by the electoral laws and the constitution of the Federal Republic.
Any polling unit where there is rigging and violence should be cancelled out rightly.
I write to join my voice with men of goodwill who have spoken to you in private and public on the 2015 election and other issues associated with it. I am courageous to say that this is in the interest of the Nigerian youth and people at large. Thank You.
Signed:
Adeolu OYEBODE
Phone: +234-806-440-6846; email: [email protected] , Twitter: @adeoluoyebode