Edo 2012 election: Is INEC troubled?

It is not difficult to know that the average Nigerian would not believe the so-called clarification or prophecy.  There is in actual fact nothing to suggest that Jega or even the author of the statement himself believed it. If by chance such a statement is any way better than a bogus claim, then we need […]

It is not difficult to know that the average Nigerian would not believe the so-called clarification or prophecy.  There is in actual fact nothing to suggest that Jega or even the author of the statement himself believed it. If by chance such a statement is any way better than a bogus claim, then we need to quickly include all able bodied men and women in the scheme and reduce the duration of the service so that we can produce very many Nigerians of proven integrity overnight. But jokes apart, it would be unfair to say that there are no good corpers in the country considering that during the 2011 elections, many of them acquitted themselves creditably with some paying the supreme sacrifice in the riots which followed the results of the elections.

Last December, the election working group of the Nigerian Bar Association testified that corpers demonstrated commendable orderly conduct during the Kogi State Governorship election. And only a few days ago, the INEC office in Calabar recommended two outgoing corpers for state and national awards for rejecting bribe money offered to them by politicians during the governorship election in Cross River State(although those who offered the bribe will not be disclosed). The NYSC boss is thus free to express the hope that some of his corpers are likely to be of good behaviour.  But to give a clean bill of character to each and every corps member as well as all NYSC staff is unduly presumptuous. It is as if the NYSC is challenging other institutions to an integrity contest. Does anyone expect the Speaker of the House of Representatives for instance; to assure the nation that none of the honorable members of his House would accept any gratification to alter a report to favour anyone? Put differently, would the President of my beloved professional association-the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) – seek to also bamboozle the nation with a public statement that none of us, his members, would accept ‘brown envelope’ at any event?

So, the story that corpers in Edo were only paid hazard allowance appears to resemble the old story of ‘Alice in the Wonderland’ because at about the same time, hundreds of out-going corps members in Kaduna had to demonstrate against the state government over its failure to pay their terminal allowance of N30, 000 each (or is it also called hazard allowance?). The corpers reportedly blocked officials of the Ministry of Youths from leaving the premises and also blocked all roads leading to the area.

As one analyst opined, the corpers in Kaduna State were not paid their terminal benefits because their electoral value at that point in time was at zero level. Consequently, there is some logic in the argument that the payment to corpers of what is described as hazard allowance close to an election by an incumbent seeking re-election can be used to compromise the corpers who are to officiate during the exercise. Under the circumstance, INEC should deploy corpers serving from outside Edo State to officiate in the July 14 Governorship election in the State. That would be a more reassuring gesture than a meeting of NYSC and INEC bosses where one assures the other that corpers would not be compromised while the other confidently assures the nation that the allegation of a likely biased officiating has been cleared. Otherwise, if free and fair elections in Nigeria are to be based on verbal assurances, the talks would be many but they would all be ineffectual. It would not be hard for example; to get the Police boss to tell the nation that because of a planned change of uniforms, none of his men, would be misused by politicians and that indeed there would be no snatching of ballot boxes during elections.

Interestingly, it is not too evident that INEC itself is on top of the game and that she is poised to attain free and fair election in Edo State, come July 14. The handling of recent political matters in the state by the Commission gives the impression that she is already overwhelmed by the politicians. For example, on May14, 2012, there was massive demonstration in Benin City by persons who alleged that INEC was in league with some people to undertake a fake voter’s registration for the purpose of rigging the coming elections.

The reaction of INEC four days later, was to postpone the exercise until after the elections so that in the words of the chairman “we can do it in an atmosphere devoid of suspicions and fears and so that we can focus on re-building confidence and preparing for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections.” Two issues are important here. First, because it is practically impossible to undertake fake registration of voters without the collusion of INEC officials, the posture of the Commission gave credence to the allegation.

Second, since INEC hopes to focus on re-building confidence and preparing for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections only after the July 14 exercise, it means that the Commission has already given up on the possibility of attaining free, fair and credible election this time around. Surprisingly, some 8 days after the decision to postpone the registration exercise, INEC came up with an official statement that its investigation had shown that the allegation which influenced its previous decision was baseless.  Why did INEC act before thinking and why did she allow herself to be stampeded to dodge its legal right and duty to review the voters’ register as a continuous exercise as provided by the Electoral Act?  Now, many citizens who are otherwise qualified to vote in the coming elections would be disenfranchised and no one can do anything about it because INEC can neither penalize nor reprimand alarmists.

We can only hope that another demonstration will not put the entire election process on hold!!