Yesterday, the ding dong over the Edo State governorship election continued with the postponement of the exercise for another two weeks. The decision was reached at a security meeting held in Benin, the Edo State capital yesterday evening
. It has further raised the tension and anxiety preceding the long awaited election. But for many, what is worse is that the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) in announcing the postponement was not clear what extra measure the security agencies would take on September 28, the new date. The call for postponement had since courted negative reactions, across the political parties divide.
The electoral body statutorily saddled with the conduct of the election was as confused as the anxious electorate in Edo and agitated Nigerians in general. On Wednesday, the INEC had said it would consult widely with stakeholders and security agencies before taking an official position on the postponement.
The National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity
Committee of INEC, Prince Solomon Adedeji Soyebi, earlier at a media briefing had told newsmen that it was going ahead with its plan to hold the election.
Soyebi declared that ‘’after carefully weighing all the consequences and parameters of postponing the Edo governorship election as advised yesterday by spokespersons of the Police and Directorate of State Security (DSS), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decided to go ahead with the conduct of the election as scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2016.
He further expressed the determination of the commission to go ahead with the election and disclosed that the commission had reached not less than 97 per cent level of preparation for the conduct of the election.
But in an apparent reference to the claim that the Commission was under pressure from the ruling party, Prince Soyebi stressed that the Commission would not be led by the nose that it would not do anything that would mortgage Nigeria’s democracy.
He further emphasized that the Commission robustly considered the implications of demobilizing and arrived at the fact that it was more expensive to do so.
But what followed was a stunning recant, which left Nigerians stupefied as the Commission in deference to the stance of the DSS later announced postponement of the election by two weeks.
For an electoral umpire whose leadership under Professor Mahmood Yakubu has been at the receiving end of scathing umbrage over inconclusive elections, the abortion of the Edo state exercise will certainly make its image to sink deeper in the eyes of Nigerians.
With the development, all manner of permutations and questions have dominated public discourse. Even though the call for postponement was initiated by security agencies, some insinuate that it has further shown that the present administration has not got it right in conducting elections. For some others, the reason was because the the APC which is the ruling party in Edo State had got field reports that if the election holds on Saturday as scheduled, the main opposition party, the PDP may have the majority of votes. Another school of thought believes that it is a political strategy by the power brokers to stretch the battle to further deplete the finances of the opposition party which may not be ready for a long race like the APC. There are even others who think that it is a further proof that the present administration headed by President Muhammadu Buhari is finding it difficult to get anything right.
But in the estimation of analysts, what is even surprising is that the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Police cited unfavourable security report as reasons for their recommendation for a postponement. This is even as ahead of the election, at least 25,000 police officers and 10,000 officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) and those of the NSCDC were posted to ensure the peaceful conduct of the exercise. So, with such arrangement, many wonder the sudden alarm of security threat to the polls.
On Wednesday, the Police had warned the INEC to postpone the exercise but the National Chairman of the electoral umpire, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, asserted that the electoral umpire was ready to conduct the election.
But the security agencies would have none of that as at a Press conference jointly held in Abuja on Wednesday, they had said Boko Haram and other extremist elements were planning to attack soft targets including Edo.
Addressing reporters at the DSS headquarters in Abuja, the security agencies said the shift would enable them deal decisively with the envisaged terrorist threats.
Represented by Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Don Awunah, Garba Abdullahi who stood in for Tony Opuyo, (DSS) warned: “The Nigeria Police and Department of State Services, wish to inform the general public that credible intelligence availed the agencies of plans by insurgent/extremist elements to attack vulnerable communities and soft targets with high population during the forthcoming Sallah celebrations between September 12 and 13, 2016. Edo is among the states being earmarked for these planned attacks by the extremist elements”.
In Benin on Monday, students who were scheduled to write the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) text same day of the election, protested, asking the authorities to postpone the poll.
In all of this, the fear in many quarters is if the current INEC leadership is finding it difficult to conduct isolated elections like that of Edo, what would happen in the general elections that would include the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
INEC’s year of controversies
On the first day in office of Professor Mahmud Yakubu, the INEC boss, declared that the job of the electoral body should be considered the simplest work to do, wondering why people complained of difficulty.
But after series of controversies and inconclusive elections organised under his watch, it has become even more doubtful if he still holds the same view.
INEC’s leadership began to fumble in the first few weeks, when few days to the Kogi governorship elections, it was speculated that the commission’s leadership had a secret meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Yakubu bluntly denied that any meeting occurred, but the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Garba Shehu later owned up, saying that it was true, but that the meeting was only for five minutes. Yakubu’s denial raised doubts on the credibility of the commission.
The first two elections conducted by the Yakubu-led INEC was Kogi and Bayelsa governorship polls, and in it, the commission floundered. It declared both elections inconclusive, and ordered a supplementary election. Since then, almost all the elections contested under the leadership of the Yakubu-led INEC have either been trailed with controversies or declared inconclusive.
In Rivers State, INEC suspended all electoral processes regarding the re-run parliamentary elections and declared it inconclusive. It also said it is in receipt of the results of nine state constituencies and one federal constituency in which rerun elections were held over the weekend in the state.
The Director of Voter Education Publicity of INEC, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, explained that the release of further results were suspended due to reports of violence, attacks and the deaths of INEC officials and adhoc personnel in the state. Over seven months later, Senatorial elections in Rivers are yet to be completed
In Nasarwawa, INEC declared the May 2016, Nasarawa/Toto Federal Constituency bye-election inconclusive. The Returning Officer of the election, Dr Wilfred Uji of Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, cited Section 53 of the Electoral Act which gives the commission the power to cancel election in polling units where there is over voting.
In Osun State Senate rerun, the by-election held at Ife Central State Constituency but was declared inconclusive also. The Returning Officer, Dr Francis Oladimeji, said that after the collation of results from the 11 wards in the state constituency, the result could not be declared because of the violence which led to the disruption of collation at two polling units. However, fresh elections held in the two affected polling units, Agbedegbede and Moore Ojaja, both in Ward Three in Ife Central State Constituency.
In Imo, INEC declared the July 23, Imo North Senatorial District rerun election inconclusive. Also declared inconclusive were the results of Oru East and Isiala Mbano State Constituencies following reported cases of shootings, which characterised the exercise in some communities in the two affected areas.
In Abuja, INEC declared the April 10 election in Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abuja Municipal and Kwali area councils of the Federal Capital Territory inconclusive. The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Sunday Ododo, explained that the election in the area council was declared inconclusive because the total number of cancelled votes cast, 15,560, was more than the margin between the two leading political parties.
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