By Vincent Kalu And Tunde Thomas
Southern, Middle Belt leaders, and some elder statesmen have carpeted the Independent National Electoral Commission,[INEC] over the postponement of the gubernatorial and the State House of Assemblies elections earlier scheduled to take place across the nation today.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Wednesday announced the postponement. While making the announcement, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee , Mr. Festus Okoye said the shift was to enable the electoral umpire reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines deployed for the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly polls which were also to be used for guber and state legislative elections.
Berating INEC over the excuse given for the postponement, the leaders accused the electoral body of not only failing to live up to expectations but for also deceiving Nigerians that it was prepared for the elections.
While accusing INEC of being mischievous, the President of the Middle-Belt Forum, (MBF),Dr. Bitrus Pogbu said: INEC was mischievous in the whole conduct of the elections. Expressing a similar view, the spokesman of Ohanaeze, Chief Alex Ogbonna, accused INEC of deceit. According to him: “INEC has been failing on all fronts. The world should know the amount of money given to INEC, whether it was not enough to conduct a credible election, they would be shocked. There was disappointment everywhere from INEC. They deceived Nigerians and the people are not happy with them; you can see that allover the place- the traditional and social media,” he said.
Describing the postponement of the polls not only as unfortunate, the General Secretary, Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr. Kunle Olajide noted that the postponement was a sign that the INEC was not prepared for the elections.
Advising the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu to put his house in order, Olajide said: “It is obvious that INEC was not prepared for the elections, and this is very unfortunate. If they are well prepared, all these excuses by the commission would not have arisen, and even there would have been no need for the postponement of the governorship, and the State House of Assembly elections. I will advise the INEC Chairman to put his house in order before the governorship and the State Assemblies elections.
“It is unfortunate that Nigerians have to be passing through all these. They are facing economic hardship, the naira redesign challenge is also there, and now the INEC is also adding its own. INEC should review how far it has gone with a view to making necessary adjustments regarding the remaining elections’’.
For elder statesman, Senator Femi Okurounmu, INEC has no reason for giving any excuse for not living up to expectations, as Nigerians were not prepared for such. He said what Nigerians were expecting was nothing but results and not excuses.
According to him: “This is not what the nation bargained for. INEC has no excuse not to live up to expectations. It is very unfortunate that this is what INEC is giving to Nigerians considering all the time the commission had to prepare for the polls. I will like to advise the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu that he should resist the temptation to compromise his integrity. He should resist the temptation to deviate from the original standards he set for the elections. He should be bold to follow his own guidelines, otherwise, he would give Nigeria a bad image before the international community. Already, almost all the international observers had declared that the elections held so far fell below the standards that INEC itself set out.
While declaring that what INEC has done so far since the elections started has not been impressive, former Minister for Aviation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope said the excuse given by the INEC for the postponement of the gubernatorial and State Assemblies elections was a proof that the commission was not prepared for the 2023 general elections.
“What INEC has done so far didn’t show signs that the commission was prepared for the elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu obviously was not well prepared with members of his team. What INEC has been doing so far doesn’t show signs of any seriousness. The nation entrusted INEC Chairman with a big task, and he has failed to live up to expectations.” He urged the INEC Chairman to resign if he can no longer do the job. On his part, elder statesman, Dr. Uma Eleazu noted that INEC prepared well and that they were funded very well, lamenting that only the INEC Chairman and some of his aides could explain what is happening.
“Only the INEC chairman and some of his aides knew how water passed under the bridge that made them to sabotage their own equipment. Once that was done, problem started. At a certain stage, Obasanjo told them to stop announcing these figures. If they announced the results from the polling units, everybody would see how the commissioners were arriving at the figures they said they collated. But they sabotaged their efforts and Nigerians felt deceived.”
The President of the Cultural Credibility and Development Initiative (CCDI), Chief Goddy Uwazurike on his part said: “the INEC chairman is the only INEC chairman that has done two terms. This is his second term. You have four year to prepare for an exam, but just a day or two to the exam, you say your pen is not working. INEC failed woefully. They have no excuses; they just ended up deceiving Nigerians.
However, the National President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima beleived that INEC has done very well. According to him, there is no system or election that is 100 per cent perfect.
“Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, and his team have done well. There is no perfection anywhere. INEC has done very well but where there are complaints, INEC should look into such with a view to making necessary corrections. There is no system or election that is 100 per cent perfect. INEC should make adequate preparations for the gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections to avoid hitches that can affect the outcome of the polls.”