WHEN former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Professor Attahiru Jega as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in June 2010, it was obvious to all Nigerians that he had to do a lot to restore the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral body. His predecessor in office, Professor Maurice Iwu’s tenure as INEC chairman was characterized by crisis of confidence as his critics believed he had a soft spot for the then ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party, which allegedly affected his impartiality.
As an electoral umpire, his critics believe he was partial and he never helped matters too when after the conduct of the 2007 elections won by late President Umar Yar’Adua,he reportedly said Yar’Adua was bound to win because he was the most hardworking of all the candidates. An impartial umpire was not expected to say anything like that as such statement was bound to send a wrong signal which indeed, it did. Iwu was sorely criticized during his tenure while the institution which he headed became one of the most unpopular of the federal institutions with a feeling of bias as its major albatross, whether rightly or wrongly.
With Iwu’s exit, the appointment of Jega was hailed by almost every Nigerian because he came highly recommended on account of his activism in his previous position as President of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU). Though his appointment was initially condemned by a few who accused him of being a consultant to INEC during Iwu’s tenure and his perceived relationship with him (Iwu) in ASUU.
But Jega at the end of the day proved his critics wrong. He stands today as the only electoral umpire to have conducted two presidential elections successfully. He also stands tall as an electoral umpire who left the seat with his integrity intact in spite of provocations that could have derailed the last general elections.
During Jega’s tenure, INEC witnessed a lot of innovations in the electoral process. Under him, INEC introduced the Automated Finger- print Identification System (AFIS) in order to curb multiple registration, a major loophole that politicians em- ploy to perpetrate illegality during election. He also introduced the idea of using his colleagues in the universities as returning officers, an idea that helped to increase the credibility of elections in the country. Jega equally introduced the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and the Card readers, all which helped to bring credibility to the election process in spite of the problems of malfunction of the equipment in some areas during elections.
I have gone through the process of recalling the modest achievements of the Jega tenure in view of what’s hap- pening now.
Since Jega’s exit, INEC had conducted two governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states. The elections have left a lot to be desired due to the controversies that have trailed and still trailing the two elections. The Kogi election was declared inconclusive due to the death of the governorship flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu.
INEC’s offer to APC to present another candidate to replace Audu has created more problems than it has been able to solve. The Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate had accused INEC of taking directives from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Malam Abubakar Malami on the substitution which the party claimed is unknown to the Nigerian constitution. There have also been insinuations that INEC deliberately declared that election inconclusive based on pressure from certain quarters. Last Saturday’s governor- ship election in Bayelsa state was to be later declared inconclusive too due to security concerns. Some mischief makers have been given enough reasons to go to town to insinuate that the inconclusive verdict was due to the fact that the election didn’t go the way it was expected.
All these are are not good for the image of the electoral umpire. The signal being given out here is that INEC is not independent. This sort of thing would ultimately affect the the credibility of INEC unless the chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, moves quickly to assert the independence of the commission. Two elections have been conducted under the present headship of INEC, both of them inconclusive, would this be what would characterize this INEC? One prays it would not be so, but INEC leadership of Yakubu should also gird itself for the task ahead so that in the years ahead, we shall also have good things to say about it.
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