Festus Okoye, the national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education, of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in this interview by KUNLE ODEREMI, sheds light on security arrangements, logistics, movement of sensitive materials, among other issues, relating to the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states coming up on November 16, 2019.
With 12 days to the governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa states, what is the stage of preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)?
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is ready for the conduct of the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship Elections slated for November 16, 2019, as well as the senatorial election in Kogi West senatorial district slated for the same day. The commission will also on the same day conduct supplementary election in six polling units in Cape Farmosa Ward in Brass 1 state constituency that arose as a result of its inconclusiveness and the protracted litigation that was eventually resolved by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. On May 16, 2019, the INEC released the revised timetable and schedule of activities for the governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi. The commission has implemented 12 of the 14 items on the said timetable. The only items remaining revolve around the last day of campaigns, which is November 14, 2019 and the conduct of the elections on November 16, 2019.
The statutory timeline for the submission of the names, photographs and addresses of poll agents of the political parties elapsed on November 2, 2019 and we appeal to political parties that did not submit the names, photographs and addresses of their poll agents not to deploy them to the polling units. The security agencies have been given firm instructions not to allow unaccredited poll agents around the vicinity of the polling units. The commission has deepened stakeholder engagements in the two states. The states have an unfortunate history of electoral violence and the INEC is not leaving anything to chance. It has delivered all the non-sensitive materials required for the conduct of both elections and the sensitive materials will be delivered to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the two states and secured pending deployment to the local government areas, the Registration Area Centres and to the polling units. Furthermore, the commission has trained civil society groups and organisations, faith-based organisations and other stakeholders to undertake voter education and sensitisation at the grassroots. The INEC has carried out sensitisation forum for Persons with Disability (PWD) on the general information on the election (in collaboration with IFES). We have sensitised the youths on violence-free election and trained the visually impaired voters on use of Braille Guide to ensure inclusivity in the electoral process. We have collaborated with sign language interpreters for increase access of hearing impaired in the electoral process and appointed sign language interpreters at state collation centres for the collation of results. We have engaged with principal stakeholders, including traditional rulers, youths, participating political parties and candidates, etc on peaceful elections, peace building and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) initiatives.
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There must be a few issues that all the major stakeholders, including INEC and political actors need to be addressed as the election fast approaches. What are some of the issues?
The commission expects all the critical stakeholders to prepare for the conduct of the elections. The INEC is working very hard and engaging the voters, the political parties, civil society groups and the media. Unfortunately, some of the political parties are acting and behaving as if they are preparing for war. We expect the parties and the candidates to tone down their rhetoric and restore the hope and promise of a peaceful and non-violent elections. We have engaged with and consulted and firming up security and deployment arrangements with the security agencies to provide adequate security for the voters, electoral officials and electoral personnel. We are also firming up the rules of engagement for security personnel that will be engaged in election duty. We expect professionalism and ethical conduct on their part. They must exude confidence and get the people of both states to come out and vote without fear of violence or molestation. The security agencies have assured the INEC that they will deploy effectively for the election.
The INEC is constantly under verbal attacks by the political parties and their leaders over preparations for the election. Why do you think they have particularly kept alleging lack of neutrality by INEC and security personnel? Does it not amount to their loss of confidence on the INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible poll on November 16?
The commission is a regulatory body and we do not expect any form of applause from the parties we regulate. Partisan political actors are holding the electoral process hostage. The Nigerian people have accepted democracy and are firmly engaged with the electoral process while a section of the political elite are engaged in actions and utterances with a demobilising effect on the ordinary voters and the Nigerian people. A section of the political elite are the ones recruiting political “skull crackers.” They are the ones importing and distributing psychotropic substances to our young people and using them for unwholesome political practices. They are the ones seeking to corrupt our ad-hoc staff and other categories of staff. They are the ones buying votes. They are the ones engineering mayhem at collation centres and using Fifth Columnists to announce rogue results. The INEC has upgraded and improved its processes and procedures and is gradually removing and eliminating human error in the electoral process. The commission will not pander to the whims and caprices of individuals and groups in the electoral process. We are ready to deploy and deploy effectively. We have taken on board the lessons from the 2019 elections and creatively and innovatively striving to overcome a couple of the logistic challenges that attended the 2019 general election.
We expect the political parties and their candidates to return to the path of sanity and develop the democratic spirit that is fundamental to the sustenance of democracy and the electoral process. The INEC has improved and improved tremendously, and it is defeatist and dangerous to continuously and continually run it down as if democratic institutions do not matter in the growth of our democracy.
You have just indicted a section of the political elite of engaging in actions and utterances capable of a demobilising effect on the ordinary voters and the Nigerian people generally. Such accusation borders on the comportment of the political class. Generally speaking, to what extent have the political parties, their leaders and candidates themselves exhibited maturity and discipline as the countdown to the election proper begins?
Some of the political parties want to dictate to the commission on how to carry out its constitutional and statutory mandate and obligations. We issued the revised timetable and schedule of activities for the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections on May 16, 2019 with clear timelines and yet some of the political parties thought that the commission would act outside its timelines relating to the deadline for the submission of the names of the nominated candidates. Some of the parties and candidates took the INEC to court and the court’s right and power to exclude affirmed the commission’s powers to exclude political parties and candidates that fall outside the regulatory window.
Some of the political parties and their candidates breached the clear intendment of the 1999 Constitution relating to the qualification for contesting governorship elections and wanted us to waive same. We made it clear that the constitution is the fundamental law of the land and the commission is not vested with the power to waive compliance. Some of them took the INEC to court and the courts affirmed the commission’s right not to accept and act on invalid nominations. The Nigerian people expect a good electoral behaviour from the political parties and their candidates. The Nigerian people expect them to show maturity and discipline in their conduct. The INEC is resolved that parties and their candidates can only come to power through constitutional means. The commission has power under the constitution and the law to compel parties to do the right thing. Our expectation is that the security agencies will act professionally and ethically and give the commission the security cover necessarily to carry out its constitutional and legal responsibilities.
Don’t you think they have not been adhering to the rules of the game and engagements, against the background of the row that was witnessed at the recent stakeholders’ meeting held in Yenagoa, coupled with the violence and assault during campaigns?
Disagreements and contestation are normal in every human endeavour, but such must not be allowed to degenerate and create security scare and challenges. The parties and the candidates must campaign with decency and civility. They must never employ violence, intimidation and fear as weapons of campaign. The parties and the campaigns must acknowledge the right of the voters to vote in a peaceful atmosphere. In a democracy, the voters are the sole determinants of political succession. A clean mandate solidifies the legal, moral and political authority to govern while a rogue mandate keeps the holder on edge.
Kogi is vast in land mass with a deplorable road network, while Bayelsa has massive waterfronts that require between three hours to traverse. How does INEC plan to overcome these difficulties within the timeframe for the election?
Our planning has been robust. Our non-sensitive materials are already in the various Local Governments in the two states. The sensitive materials will be ready a week to the election and they will be moved to the CBN in Yenagoa (Bayelsa) and Lokoja (Kogi). The Nigerian Air Force and Navy will assist the commission move the materials and the personnel to the riverine areas and to the difficult terrains of Kogi state. We have trained all the ad-hoc staff required for the conduct of the elections. The collation officers will be drawn from senior academic staff of federal tertiary institutions outside the two states. They will be moved to the states under good security to collate the results of the elections. We expect timely commencement of deployment and we are synchronising with the security agencies for early deployment. We appeal to the Political Parties not to create impediments to the deployment of our ad-hoc staff from the registration area centres to the polling units.
What specifics measures are already in place to guarantee that voters are not short-changed due to the difficult terrains and the often official inertia?
Duly registered and accredited voters will vote during the elections. Individuals that are not registered or who have lost their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and those that have no business being at the polling units are advised to remain at home. Security will be provided for genuine voters while anti-democratic and disruptive elements will be checkmated. We have signed and are signing individual contracts with the transporters that will move our materials and personnel from the registration area centres to the polling units. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) will profile the transporters, while the Nigerian Navy and the Marine Police will profile the boat owners that will assist with the movement of materials and personnel to the riverine areas.
We have designed a template and will issue letters to recruited ad-hoc staff detailing their responsibilities, entitlements, obligations and the conduct. We expect them to act patriotically and exhibit the highest level of good behavior during the elections. We are continuing with our engagements with the different segments and strata of the people of the two States and we are confident that reason will prevail, and the elections will go smoothly.