FOR the second time in the year, the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disappointed the Rivers State electorate over the indefinite postponement of the rescheduled rerun National and State legislative polls in the state early scheduled for tomorrow, July 30. The indefinite suspension of the poll has left the electorate in suspense and utter confusion.
As explained by the electoral body’s secretary, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, the umpire was forced to postpone the rerun election because of reports of violence, maiming and fatalities which caused the initial postponement of the polls in March. The ritualized explanation is not different from earlier ones. Like Warri people would say, INEC ‘is not only falling my hand but the hands of Rivers people.’
The electoral umpire has indeed disappointed the people of Rivers State. It has also disappointed the electorate and the political parties that were ready for the poll. It should stop denying Rivers people representations in the two Legislative Houses.
It will be recalled that INEC had in a meeting with political parties and other
stakeholders in Abuja slated June 30 for the poll but later shifted it to July 30 for security reasons. As at June 30, it is re- ported that INEC had 78 reruns to be conducted in the country.
They cover National and State legislative elections across some states in the country. Out of this, the umpire regaled Nigerians with its intentions and readiness to conclude rerun polls in Rivers, Kano, Imo and Kogi states by July 31. While it embarked on reruns in three of the states, INEC sang a different song in the case of Rivers State.
No doubt, INEC under Yakubu has not performed up to public expectation. Apart from widespread cases of malfunctioning card readers; snatching of ballot boxes, rigging, thuggery, and other electoral infractions; most elections so far conducted in the country under his leadership had been inconclusive.
Nigerians had witnessed such ugly scenarios in Kogi, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers and other states. But that of Rivers is somehow peculiar and isolated. And the umpire’s reasons for such postponements are not resonating with Rivers people who think otherwise.
For Rivers, the stakes are so high for certain All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains from the state. Delivering the state to the centre appears to be a mandate that must be accomplished but it was never to be. And the reason for the failure was obvious even to the blind. The state is a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) do- main, pure and simple.
No doubt, the APC leadership has not recovered from the loss of three oil-bearing states of Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom. APC chieftain, Chief John Odigie Oyegun had alluded to the loss.
It appears that the APC chieftains are still brooding over the overwhelming defeat they suffered in these states. Apar from reports of violence that rocked previous polls in the state, INEC’s reasons for postponing the July 30 poll are not convincing enough. It is not only Rivers that witnessed violence in the 2015 polls.
It should not be singled out for endless postponements of its remaining polls. This is a fact that should not be lost on the electoral umpire. The reported parley the umpire had with APC before the postponement of the rerun is not tidy.
It presents an image of a biased umpire. If it wants to parley with political parties on election matters, it must be with all the affected parties. It should not be selective. Angered by the postponement, Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, said that ‘the National Assembly and the Federal Government should work towards disbandment of the electoral body.’ Also, the chair- man of Rivers State Inter-Party Advisory Council, Felix Obuah, has, in rejecting the postponement, pointed out that it is shocking that the umpire could arbitrarily suspend the poll without consulting the concerned political parties and explain to them why the poll should not hold.
That INEC office in Khana Local Government Area of the state, was razed, though condemnable, is not enough to indefinitely postpone the Rivers rerun. Rivers can be said to be relatively peaceful. There is more to the endless postponement of Rivers rerun polls than the umpire is willing to disclose to Nigerians. It is not acceptable to Rivers people that insecurity is the major reason for the in- definite postponement of the poll.
Besides, the electoral body has the police and other security agencies to provide security during the poll. Although time for elections is not statute-barred but there is a limit to which the 2015 polls can go. Too much of everything is too bad. It is unacceptable the report credited to
Yakubu that ‘elections would continue to be inconclusive in the country because of the need to account for every polling unit.’ Would INEC continue to hold 2015 polls till 2019 when another general election will hold? If rerun poll is proving a hard nut to crack for INEC, then the 2019 general elections would be more daunting. INEC will definitely face a bigger challenge come 2019.
INEC should indeed do its homework well and announce a new date for the rerun poll if it insists on postponement. Nigerians are not amused over the umpire’s incessant election postponements. It shows that the umpire is yet to perfect its acts. But in the case of Rivers, it appears the umpire is either playing a game or acting a script from the ruling party.
The people of Rivers State will no longer be subjected to indefinite waiting to elect their representatives in the National and State Assemblies. And they cannot be denied representations at these levels of governance because the umpire has refused to do the needful in concluding the poll.
There is every need for the stakeholders in the state to do a rethink and put the interest of Rivers people far and above their individual ambitions. They should think of what will benefit the entire people of the state and not what would benefit them individually. INEC should conclude the poll forthwith so that the state can move on.
Since it is the duty of INEC to conclude the Rivers rerun poll, it must address its mind to that task. It should not hide under the canopy of insecurity to continue to postpone the poll. The earlier it concludes the poll the better for it to concentrate on other challenges.
The politicians in the state should allow peace to reign. They should also let their teeming supporters embrace peace as the government in power consolidates in providing the people the democracy dividends.