INEC: Is Prof Jega in charge?

Unfortunately today, the man is much more in the news than INEC. The reason is not farfetched; it is basically because INEC itself doesn’t appear to have risen above other compromised national institutions. Press reports have been consistent that INEC is not cohesive, and that the commissioners have been at loggerheads with their chairman over […]

Unfortunately today, the man is much more in the news than INEC. The reason is not farfetched; it is basically because INEC itself doesn’t appear to have risen above other compromised national institutions. Press reports have been consistent that INEC is not cohesive, and that the commissioners have been at loggerheads with their chairman over a range of issues.
One of these issues was Jega’s star-crossed plan to establish additional polling stations across the country ahead of the 2015 general elections. It was reported that the INEC management eventually resorted to a vote to determine whether the commission should go ahead with the policy because commissioners were divided along ethnic and regional lines on the matter. Professor Jega was vigorously opposed from inside and savagely so from outside by Chief Edwin Clark, former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, and their noisy, partisan group. In the end, Jega capitulated. Was this a thoughtless manoeuvre embarked upon by the INEC chairman? Da muguwar rawa, gwara kin tashi!
Professor Jega has kept sealed lips about where he intends to print the ballot papers and other sensitive materials required for the February, 2015 elections. Recently, President Goodluck Jonathan “directed” INEC to print these materials with the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) so as “to create jobs for Nigerians”. Reports say the Mint has hurriedly imported equipment from abroad with which it intends to print the materials INEC needs for the elections. INEC officials were said to have inspected the equipment. Is the creation of jobs part of the mandate of INEC chaired by Jega? Why is the government desperate to get INEC to print these materials at the Mint? There is no doubt that the biggest job may go to President Jonathan himself if INEC, for whatever reason, caves in and prints sensitive electoral materials at the Mint.
Professor Jega has repeatedly mentioned what he considered to be the challenges to free and fair elections in 2015; among them, inadequate funding and insecurity, particularly in the North East. Just last week, however, the Minister for Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs (also supervising Minister of Employment), and Jega’s kinsman, Barrister Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, disclosed that all funds required by INEC had been disbursed. Would INEC confirm this? Again, the question of insecurity and its urgent resolution is squarely the responsibility of the government.
As for the malevolent behaviour and rhetoric of politicians, it is up to Professor Jega to enforce the rules; after all, the PDP presidential candidate had commenced his quest for re-election long before INEC permitted him. The zoned gatherings of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) stunned everyone, because they enjoyed the presence and sponsorship of top government officials. Yet, Jega couldn’t help them distinguish rallies from crystal clear campaign for candidate Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party. The president’s kinsmen have also been making inflammatory statements regarding his inexorable loss in the 2015 elections. Chief Edwin Clark, Asari Dokubo and even pseudo-nationalists like Chukwuemeka Ezeife have predicted catastrophe if Nigerians reject Jonathan in 2015. Can Jega do anything about this? Can he stop these Jonathan partisans from overheating the polity on account of their political preferences?
There is another aspect of INEC’s performance that doesn’t inspire confidence: inconclusive elections. INEC is often seen as colluding with PDP to organise inconclusive elections; they did this during the gubernatorial in Odo Osi, Ekiti State. The last inconclusive election was the one for the Niger East Senate seat, where the PDP and INEC systematically stalled voting in about nine polling units and eventually stole the vote from David Umaru of the APC.
The distribution of PVC – Permanent Voter’s Card – without which the commission has said people will not vote, is also being manipulated by INEC. For a while now, there have been accusations by officials in opposition states that INEC has messed up the distribution of PVCs among their citizens as a ploy to disenfranchise them and place PDP at an advantage.
A lot of people are still sceptical about Professor Jega’s impartiality and independence of mind when it comes to discharging his INEC duties. No one had thought that Jega would plead national security as an alibi to stop the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) from inspecting the ballots used for the 2011 presidential elections as granted by the court of appeal. It is also uncertain if INEC commissioners, both national and resident, are loyal to Jega, or whether they take their orders from someone in the Villa. Equally, lately, the security personnel, including soldiers, have shown a lot of fanaticism in carrying out purely civic duties called elections. In Osun, as in Ekiti, some of them were hooded and showed a lot of partisanship in the course of duty. Many of them think that their duty is to ensure that PDP wins all elections by all means. Can Jega take charge and limit their role?
Nevertheless, all eyes are now on Professor Jega’s INEC to see if he can provide a level playing ground for a free and fair contest, basically between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Notwithstanding daily intimidation by the ruling party, it is hoped that Professor Jega will find the courage to announce the victory of the opposition if they truly win the elections, and that he will not be the last election umpire of a united Nigeria.