By Okey Samuel Mbonu I
Like many people in Nigeria and beyond, we are disappointed beyond measure that INEC, despite collecting N242 billion (the highest election budget ever approved in Nigeria); along with millions in extra-budgetary technical assistance from the international community, still failed to show competence, by postponing the election only a few hours to the actual polls, at enormous cost to even the lowest poll-worker or voter, including hapless NYSC ad-hoc staff.
A postponement in itself is not a wrong act, as it is envisaged by the Electoral Act. Exigent circumstances including a catastrophic “act of God” could warrant a postponement. However, the problem is that the abrupt postponement for the unverifiable reasons stated, calls Mahmood Yakubu and his team’s overall competence into question.
INEC should have triggers in place, to have caught certain problem weeks, or even days in advance. Not having these triggers in place weeks in advance, represents a major failure and causes us serious concern.
As unbiased stakeholders in this matter, we are now learning additional information, including, according to Nigeriapost.ng, a confirmed report that INEC sensitive materials, including PVC’s and software for the polls, were contracted out to an APC Senatorial Candidate from Niger State, Mr. Mohammed Musa.
We do not know whether Mr. Musa even compromised the materials he supplied to INEC as a partisan candidate! We also noticed that suspicious fires have destroyed 4695 Card Readers in Anambra alone, with more destroyed in Plateau and other States.
We have also noted that the APC candidate’s niece, Amina Zakari, is an INEC official, in charge of collating the results of the presidential vote!
These matters now call for all stakeholders and essentially all Nigerians, to rise to substantial vigilance, per serious issues that could arise in this election, including the potentially pre-designed rigging of the actual vote from the “master-riggers” of either the APC or the PDP. C
We are not fooled by the flood of crocodile tears of various party chieftains of both the PDP and APC as per this postponement. Some Nigerians have noted that some of these party chieftains may have prepared grand plans to rig the vote last Saturday.
We have heard from many Nigerians that both the APC and PDP are “master riggers”, and that each had planned to rig elections where they could, to subvert the peoples will in this election. Any such pre-conceived plans should not be allowed to stand!
In the recent past, INEC officials, including people at the Commissioner and Returning Officer levels, have been known to have collected inducements, especially from state governors, to compromise elections in Nigeria. In-fact, there are existing criminal court cases against some INEC Commissioners in the 2015 Elections, which have still not been resolved at the time of this writing.
The Judiciary must rise to the occasion and swiftly dispense justice in these prior and future electoral matters, bothering on electoral malpractices. We must set examples for INEC staff today, some of whom may be planning to rig the votes again in these coming 2019 Elections.W
As per rigging plans of either the APC or PDP in the 2019 Elections, many of us stakeholders have resolved to bring international repercussions to any known perpetrator of a rigged vote, whether they are APC or PDP.
We also believe that INEC, especially with its massive budget of 242 Billion Naira in 2019, must have put in place monitoring systems for their staff, but we will go further to directly and indirectly monitor INEC staff, their family members, and their business associates around the world, to make sure that whoever wins this vote will win it freely and fairly.
Some of us are privy to mechanisms that are already in place right now, in Nigeria and world-wide, to track down illicit exchanges of money in Naira, Dollars, or Euro, by candidates, INEC Staff, and security agencies who may be bent on compromising this election.
We are also mindful of clever exchanges of property in-lieu of cash, by agents of the “master riggers” of the two dominant parties the APC and PDP. We will ensure that mechanisms are activated worldwide, upon proof of rigging activity, in any of its forms.V
We insist that the people of Nigeria must go to the polls and vote their conscience in good faith, without molestation, inducement, or intimidation.
And as for the youth, who constitute 80 percent of voters in Nigeria, if you are considering selling your vote for N2000 or N4000; or snatching a ballot box for a politician, you are worth more than that. Do not sell yourself into slavery for the next 4 years!
Once we are satisfied that this vote is free and fair, we would not hesitate to congratulate the victor in good faith. We hope this would be the beginning of a new Nigeria.
Hon. Okey Samuel Mbonu is a new-generation leader and Strategic Advisor based in Abuja and Washington.
