Despite the growing insecurity across the country and other likely impediments to the conduct of the 2023 general election, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, recently assured the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWAS) and the Sahel that the exercise would be credible. The INEC boss stated this when the special representative of UNOWAS, Mahmat Saleh Annadif, visited him in Abuja. Yakubu also pledged that there would not be any undue interference in the conduct of the 2023 general election and that the commission would uphold the choice made by Nigerians.
According to Yakubu, “I want to assure you that we will continue to do what is right on the basis of the law. The ultimate choice is going to be made by Nigerians.” Let this promise be kept. While INEC’s resolve to ensure a credible poll is laudable, it is worth pointing out that the recent gubernatorial election in Ekiti State was marred by electoral infractions, including the notorious vote-buying and violence. It appears that INEC has not found the best way to tackle the growing culture of selling and buying of votes during elections or “see and buy” in local parlance. Even the previous elections before Ekiti were not spared of these electoral infractions.
Without adequately addressing the emerging culture of monetising the votes, the promise of a free and fair poll in 2023 will be a ruse. The conduct of any election cannot be said to be credible if the votes are purchased by the highest bidder. The new vote-buying culture will impugn President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise of bequeathing a legacy of credible elections to Nigerians before he leaves office in 2023.
All the same, we urge Yakubu to keep to his words by conducting a credible poll in 2023. Nigerians and members of the international community expect no less from the electoral umpire. Having attained 23 years of unbroken democracy, it is given that our elections will reflect the wishes of the people. INEC should pay more attention to the ongoing continuous voters’ registration exercise as well as the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). The registration of voters and collection of PVCs must be done seamlessly. At the same time, there should be no room for error, given the importance of the 2023 elections to the corporate existence of the country. He should make sure that the votes count.
Let the electoral umpire use the forthcoming Osun State gubernatorial election to correct noticeable lapses in Ekiti poll. Sadly, the lapses in some off-season elections in the country do not give sufficient room for enthusiasm on Yakubu’s pledge. For instance, the recent Ekiti governorship election witnessed the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), violence, vote-buying and compromising of the electoral process by unscrupulous electoral officers. According to local and foreign observers, these and other infractions affected the credibility of the poll.
Yakubu has Osun and other off-cycle polls to make good his promise. Let the INEC chairman look at the flaws in Anambra, Ekiti and other previous elections, particularly in the use of BVAS and effect corrections. INEC must liaise with security agencies and other stakeholders to discourage vote-buying and other electoral offences. Also, there is need to stop under-age people from voting. While the selling and buying of votes should be done away with, the commission must embark on training and retraining of its staff for a free and fair poll in 2023.
Since the Electoral Act 2022 has given INEC enough powers to conduct a hitch-free exercise, what Nigerians expect from Yakubu is a credible and transparent election. The consequences of flawed elections are dire to contemplate. That is why Nigerians must be given the right to choose their leaders in 2023. The pledge for a free and fair poll by Yakubu is coming at the right time. Good enough, the government has given him the required logistics for the poll. What he owes Nigerians is a credible election. He must prioritise the welfare of all INEC staff to prevent them from being compromised by desperate politicians.
The 2023 elections hold a lot for Nigeria and the West African sub-region. The observation by Yakubu that Nigeria has more voters than the other 14 West African countries put together is instructive. With 84 million registered voters in Nigeria and total number of registered voters in the other 14 ECOWAS countries put at 73 million, Nigeria has 11 million voters more than other states in the sub-region. That places huge burden on INEC. In spite of the daunting task of conducting elections in Nigeria, Yakubu is fully prepared for the exercise. Therefore, INEC under his watch, must not fail Nigerians in 2023.