Exactly eight days ago, hopes and heightened tension in Edo State were doused against the backdrop of a botched anticipated governorship election that made the state a centre of political attention.
Although, Saturday, September 10, 2016 in Edo State, may not have recorded yet another epoch in the history of the state, as a reschedule of the date for the poll that will see the state in another four years under a new helmsman, saw it fixed on a Wednesday, the 28th of the month. And indeed, election in the country on a Wednesday is somewhat a kind of history in itself.
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| Prof. Mahmood Yakubu |
For many, the postponement of the Edo governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC may have come as a surprise because of its initial vow that nothing will change the Election Day.
Thus reactions have since been trailing the postponed election. While many believed that postponement was largely motivated by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC as indications in many quarters showed that the party was not receiving much support, some however argued that the APC was not to be held responsible, stressing that security advice cannot be ignored.
Observers of political events since the present INEC under the leadership of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu was constituted have often berated the commission, following the numerous inconclusive elections it has recorded. From legislative elections rerun in few states and now to postponement, many are beginning to wonder if actually it is INEC’s incompetence or the influence of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC to manipulate results to its advantage that has led to the current situation.
Indices emerging may however show that the APC could somewhat be influencing the developments emanating from the elections the country had recorded so far.
The Edo governorship election slated for last week Saturday - was postponed to September 28 following the police and the Department of State Security, DSS advice on security grounds, stating that the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko-Haram had issued a threat to disrupt the exercise.
But according to analysts and political watchers, Edo State is one of the most peaceful states hence a postponement against the backdrop of security should not have largely been a threat. And if this remains pivotal reason for a reschedule, adequate deployment of security personnel should have been made as the state was the only state in the federation where election was to be conducted. So to this group, the police and the DSS are paying a ‘subtle script’.
But some have again argued that the safety of the country is most important than Edo election. According to them, if a huge chunk of the security personnel is deployed to Edo, wouldn’t other parts of the country be further exposed to security threat, as other states will be left vulnerable to potential attacks? Records have shown that attacks are usually carried out when attention is drifted.
To those who opined that the police and the DSS are acting a subtle script, one thing that brings credence to this argument is that an election that calls for postponement according to the Electoral Act 2010 must be based on reason(s) that are cogent and verifiable.
For instance, the postponement of 2015 general election was based on logistics and security reasons. For logistics, many were still unable to collect their Permanent Voter Card, PVC before the initial scheduled date; and for security reason, the ravaging insurgency in the Northeast could not have been left to fester without being contained before the election if credible result was to be achieved. Apart from these, the hate campaigns leading to heightened tension was addressed, as the party found culpable was threatened by legal action.
These reasons for the postponement were cogent and verifiable hence the reschedule was justified.
But for the Edo rescheduled election no concrete, verifiable reason(s) could be held. And this has left many to believe that the police and the DSS are indeed being arm twisted by the ‘powers’ that be. Of course, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP fingered the ruling APC in what it described as coup against Nigerians by the ruling party to postpone the election following fears that it might lose.
The PDP, in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, condemned the move, adding that under the current INEC, all elections conducted had either been inconclusive or truncated.
It said, “The postponement of the election by INEC is illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of the peoples’ trust in the commission and the security agencies. “It 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.”
The Edo State PDP through its state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, further extended its hammer on the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole of allegedly using his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir el-Rufai- being the Deputy Chairman of the National Campaign Council of the APC for the race, to influence the postponement of the governorship election in order to buy time to rig the poll, having claimed that it received information from the Government House that el-Rufai allegedly influenced a national commissioner of INEC to postpone the election.
The APC however in a quick reaction, debunked the rumour, insisting that it was very much ready for the election and particularly expressed optimism that it candidate – Godwin Obaseki would emerge victorious.
“We will win the election. The PDP has no credibility in this state,” Oshiomhole alleged. “The APC,” he continued “defeated the PDP in 16 local governments in the last election held in the state.
In its reaction, INEC, through its spokesperson in Edo, Mrs. Priscilla Imoudu- Sule, also dismissed the allegations.
Imoudu-Sule, according to a source, said: “I want to say that the electoral officers have been very busy retrieving their materials from their camp. Also, they have brought their card readers for fresh reconfiguration.
“So, all those things anybody is saying are not from here; they are just their imagination. I would rather advise that they go and campaign for the remaining two weeks and make up for that time. They should leave the administrative issues for INEC alone.”
For INEC, a postponement of the election in just less than 48 hours is very uncomfortable, having deployed materials and personnel. This huge loss in logistics, however, could not have been said to be painful and disdainful than the ill-treatment meted out to it by the police and the DSS.
According to reports, the security agencies did not directly inform INEC over the purported security threat by Boko Haram and the need for the commission to shift the poll. Instead, INEC got wind of the counsel from the security operatives from the media.
Obviously with such a poor communication, according to expert in the field, INEC – having been irked, instantaneously insisted that it would go on with the election, since it is the body constitutionally empowered to fix election dates and conduct same. But the security agencies ‘shot’ the commission in a fatal spot as it threw in the towel for a shift.
INEC, according to analysts, cannot be blamed for this development even though indices may show that the ruling party is trying to use it to its advantage. The commission cannot conduct election without the security agencies as a major stakeholder in election matters. The safety of the electoral personnel, ad-hoc staff (NYSC), voters, observers, amongst others must be guaranteed and for credible poll to be achieved.
In the same vein, the reason attributed to the postponement by security agencies could not have been ignored. Whether this is a smart move by the ruling party to further strategise on better approach or not, is not a concern, but the safety of the people who go about to exercise their constitutional duty.
With the submission of INEC regarding the postponement, one thing that also calls for regret is the logistics which has suffered set back. Much of energy andtime have been expended for the said date.
From the reaction of the INEC spokesperson, Edo State, one can draw inference that the development has birthed a double task has and more painstaking efforts have to be deployed for the rescheduled date.
Imoudu-Sule stated that electoral officers have been very busy retrieving their materials from their camp and have brought their card readers for fresh reconfiguration for the date.
Apart from this, the Oba of Benin’s coronation slated for September 26, two days before the rescheduled date, following apprehension of the election has been postponed to October 18. This also would bring about some logistic changes. Pitiable to this development however, is the attitude of most major stakeholders in the election as they appear not to take cognizance that this same day, Wednesday 28, coincides with the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, WASSCE as some candidates will be sitting a physics examination, and nothing seems to be done about the safety of these students and ensuring they take the examination, knowing full well that movements will be restricted on that day.
Some analysts however have suggested that INEC and the examination body should facilitate quick intervention by pruning down the examination centers to three and within the three senatorial districts – Edo-North, Edo-South and Edo-Central, where it has Federal Polytechnic, Auchi; Ambrose Ali University; and University of Benin, respectively to accommodate the centers.
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