From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned leaders of political parties participating in the Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states gubernatorial elections against deploying thugs and harassing election officials during the November 11 polls.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke, yesterday, in Abuja, at a meeting with political parties on the review of the 2023 general election told them to call their supporters to order.
He said INEC was studying some of the lessons learnt from the general election to improve its performance in the forthcoming bye-elections and three off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states.
“We are focusing, among other issues, on election technology, recruitment and training of ad hoc staff, the conduct of some of our regular and ad hoc officials, security issue, logistics in particular and our relationship with other service providers in general.
“I also appeal to party leaders for similar introspection on the conduct of your candidates and their supporters. The use of thugs during elections to harass election officials, intimidate voters and disrupt processes, sometimes resulting in the destruction of election materials or even worse must be addressed. Campaign in public by parties and candidates in the three States commenced on July 14 2023 as provided in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the governorship elections. Sadly, there are already disturbing reports of clashes between opposing parties with claims and counter claims of innocence or culpability. These claims help no one. Call your supporters to order.
“At the same time, I must also acknowledge the perennial complaints from some political parties that the power of incumbency is used in some states to restrain some parties and candidates from access to public facilities for media campaigns and outdoor advertising through exorbitant fees or outright denial. This often leads to the mutual destruction of advertising materials such as billboards, resulting in altercation and violence involving supporters of opposing political parties. This matter will be discussed at the next meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) scheduled for Friday this week,” Yakubu said.
Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yabagi Yusuf Sani, warned the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) to ensure decision of the court is not based on some perverse public policy rationale or technicalities.
“You may wish to recall the historic event of February 28, 2023, in Abuja, when IPAC, after due consultations, rose to the occasion and encouraged INEC to continue and conclude the process of collation of results for the presidential election to guarantee the survival of democracy in Nigeria.
“The position taken by IPAC is, however, without prejudice to some of our member political parties who have since approached the courts for redress. Two major opposition parties- the PDP and Labour Party, as well as three other political parties, disagreed with the outcome of the elections and have since gone to the Presidential Elections Petitions Court to challenge the outcome of the election; in consistent with the norms and values of the electoral process. We commend them for following the path of law.
“However, we really hope that the decision of the court will not be based on some perverse public policy rationale or technicalities, but, rather, on reasoned and reasonable interpretation of substantive and procedural law. What Nigeria needs now is fairness, equity and justice,” he said.
There was mild drama inside the conference hall, venue of the event, when some party leaders protested the sitting arrangement, demanding that the commission would have arranged the sitting in alphabetical order.