What INEC did correctly in Anambra gov election —Ohanaeze youth scribe

Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu is the Secretary-General of the OhanaezeNdigbo worldwide youth wing and chairman of the Anambra State Election Security Monitoring Committee set up by the pan-Igbo cultural group for the just-concluded exercise. In this interview with IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI, he speaks on the improvement and the flaws that almost threatened the success of the poll among other issues.

How will you rate the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the just concluded governorship election in Anambra State?

Indeed, INEC did relatively well. It was transparent, free, fair and credible. And to the glory of God, the election was also peaceful as there were no casualties or attacks as expected. So I believe their performance was very good.

But as one of the key observers of the election, what were the factors that brought about the low turnout of voters for the election?

There were so many factors that actually led to the low turnouts of people at the poll. The first one is the apparent security challenge bedevilling the state. The second one is that many people have lost confidence in our electoral system. They thought their votes would not count. So they saw no reason to come out and wait in the sun to vote. But actually, we saw that despite the tension in the town, people still came out to vote. We appreciate their courage a great deal.  Even though we are not so proud of the turnout, we are grateful to God that the election was not enmeshed in mayhem. The election will remain one of the most peaceful polls in the history of the state and beyond. And we commend INEC, the security agencies and even the president of the country, because if being from the All Progressives Congress (APC), he had interfered in the election, the commission perhaps would not have announced the result of the election. And if they had done so, they would have caused friction in one way or the other in trying to tilt the result towards the president’s party. So I rate the commission’s effort and that of the president very good.

More so, we also observed situations whereby people rejected money to vote for their conscience. These were youths and market women rejecting money from party agents and instead insisted on voting their conscience. This is happening for the first time in this country and we are happy it began in Anambra State. It just shows that unlike before, people are now more conscious, aware and willing to have a better and well-governed society. So we will take it up from here and ensure that next time, we sensitise more people to come out and vote, just as the saying goes that a stitch in time saves nine.

But prior to the day of the election, we heard that there was a big delay in the collection of the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) as many people could not get the card even two days before the election. Could this have contributed to the low voters’ turnout?

Yes, it did, because I know so many who came out to vote. They had thought that because they had registered, their names and passports would be on the election register that INEC came with. But lo and behold, their names were not found and they were disenfranchised. Many people, including youths and many women were affected. So, this greatly affected the turnout. All we can just do now is to urge INEC to be more proficient and improve on their time-table and schedules for electoral activities, so that such a thing will not happen in subsequent elections.

Still on the low turnout, we learnt that the BVAS device of many centres actually developed faults and malfunctioned and that this prevented many people even with the PVC from voting as some were frustrated out of the voting ground. How true is this?

Yes, it is real and truly happened. In the beginning of the exercise, the network provision across most of the centres was [inadequate] for the BVAS. Many people stood in the sun for so long. At some point, old women, who had been brought out early enough for the exercise, had to be taken back home. So indeed, the inadequate provision of a network for effective functioning of the BVAS also affected voters’ turnout. So, as we commend INEC for a job well done, especially for ensuring that there was no inconclusiveness in any of the local government elections, we want to urge them to improve on their network, so that such a thing will not happen again.

But aside the issue of the BVAS and the delayed collection of PVCs, in what other areas do you think INEC should improve ahead of other elections?

Yes, the commission should improve on engaging the indigenous structures in the state for any election. They should give them proper education, mobilization and sensitization. For instance, in Anambra, we have the state youth volunteers, which comprise responsible and indigenous youths, who are willing to volunteer their time, energy and resources in supporting the commission to ensure that a peaceful and fair election exercise is held. These young people know the terrain of their state, more than any representative of either the commission or the security agencies. So INEC should endeavor to engage indigenous structural groups like these across the various ethnic groups in the state. Doing this will go a long way in ensuring the peacefulness of any election.

About two days to the election, a peace accord was signed by the candidates and political parties that took part in the November 6 election, while the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) also issued an order cancelling its sit-at-home directive. Could these two developments have contributed to the peacefulness of the election?

Yes, they contributed a great deal to the peace recorded during and after the poll.

And Igbo youths under the auspices of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing worldwide formed a security monitoring team, who helped in ensuring that the election was peaceful by all means. We went round and consulted all stakeholders in the state including the aggrieved ones and the security agencies. We even engaged the agitators too just to win their hearts and get their support for the election. And to the glory of God, all these efforts never went in vain as it is on record now that the state held a peaceful election and there was no loss of lives on November 6 and 9, 2021.

Before the election, there were conflicting orders from IPOB. Does it mean there was division within the group at that time?

I am not sure, because I am not a member of the group and I do not have much information about their operations. But one thing I am sure of is that the group enjoys much support from many Igbo youths, home and abroad. But at the leadership cadre of the Igbo youths worldwide, we are working very hard to ensure that there is peace and tranquility in Igbo land, across the South-East and beyond.

But considering the fact that the government has proscribed IPOB, what do you think has made the Igbo youths worldwide to support the group?

In my opinion, I will say firstly, the proscription of IPOB was quite unnecessary. And that is why many times, we have called on the government to reconsider its stand, especially because the rights to self-determination is fundamental and enshrined in the Nigerian constitution. And IPOB in its early days of formation was quite peaceful and lawful. So proscribing them may have contributed to the crisis in the South-East. However, we will not rest on our oars in ensuring that a lasting peace is recorded in our region. Like I told you earlier, people including the youths have almost lost confidence in the governance across the South-East. And that is why you see them obeying the orders of IPOB. Some do follow the directives of the Biafra group in solidarity, but for others, it is out of fear.

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