CHIBUZO UKAIBE writes on the schemings over the clamour for reshuffling of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
The postponement of the 2019 general election did not go down well for virtually all the stakeholders, if their reactions were anything to go by. From the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) to the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the local and international observers, expressions of disappointment towards the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), resounded.
Before long, the ruling party, APC, assumably more embarrassed being the party in charge of government, was much more displeased with INEC going by it’s utterances.
This came to the fore at the caucus meeting of the ruling party in Abuja last Monday when the electoral body came under fire for postponing the general elections by one week.
President Muhammadu Buhari warned that anyone engaged in ballot box snatching or other forms of electoral violence would do so “at the expense of his own life”. He also vowed to ensure that the chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu and other officials of the electoral body account for their incompetence after the polls.
He said: “INEC had all the time and resources, didn’t have to wait six hours to the elections to announce postponement.
“Definitely, INEC must explain to Nigerians what happened, the constitution and the law protects INEC but they must not take us for granted.
“If we had failed to provide all what INEC wanted, then we would have been held responsible.
“So at least after the elections we will have to go into details to find out what happened”.
The APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, took it up a notch. He insisted that INEC must be prevailed upon to immediately reshuffle state Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) whom he alleged have been compromised.
He also accused the Commission of working with the main opposition party to the detriment of the governing party.
Some state chapters of APC have called for the immediate removal of RECs in their respective states, accusing them of bias and allegedly recruiting PDP members as INEC adhoc staff. They include: Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) among others.
Specifically, a group, Akwa Ibom Democracy Watch (AIDW), had accused the Resident Electoral Commission (REC) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini, of being biased in favour of the PDP.
In a petition dated February 7, 2019 addressed to INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, copies of which were sent to journalists, the group claimed Igini’s actions violated the Constitution of the Federal Republic, Electoral Act, Code of Conduct by Public Officers, Electoral Conventions, Rules and Regulation.
The group catalogued Igini’s wrong-doings to include name dropping, fictitious petition against the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akwa Ibom Chapter, open support for the Peoples Democratic Party at the February 6, 2019 Peace Accord event.
In the petition which was signed by its President Amanam Uko and Director, Policy and Democracy, Donald Noah, the group urged the INEC chairman to redeploy Igini so as to restore peoples trust in the electoral process.
The group said: “Due to numerous verbal and documented complaints against this REC, we were constrained to do a check on him and alas, to our chagrin, monumental cases of having compromised himself, have been established.
“Even if one can ignore the fact that he was a very close ally of late Barrister Oronto Douglas, who in his life time, was a PDP Chieftain and top aide of
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and got his appointment as REC via this partisan route, his antics and palpable steps to favour PDP are clearly unacceptable in the Nigeria of our dream!”
On Igini Petition against APC, the group lamented that it was unprecedented for an electoral umpire: “this REC has written a formal petition against the APC in Akwa Ibom State to the Police.
“This clearly shows his bias against the party (and in fact against other parties, except PDP). This resort to Police petition as against an administrative step, if at all there is need, is particularly shocking.”
What’s more, some of the RECs were allegedly implicated in bribery scandals involving the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But the PDP has since raised the alarm over plots by the ruling party to intimidate the umpire because it is not doing the bidding of the party in government. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in a swift reaction after the APC meeting, accused the Presidency and the APC of arm-twisting and intimidating the electoral body to do its bidding.
Read Also:
Same patterns of allegation came from other members of the PDP including the national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus and the larger opposition platform, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP). The opposition party, perhaps, hopeful of watering the seeming seed of suspicion in the minds of the APC by speaking up in support of the electoral umpire.
This is especially as opposition had up till the postponement of the election, breathed down the neck of the commission, heaping allegations of partisanship against it and questioning it’s every move.
However, while the blaming game lasts, the bone of contention is whether or not RECs be reshuffled at the request of the Presidency or other stakeholders in the electoral process?
Checks on the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) as well as the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) revealed that while RECs are appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate, they are sworn in and posted to states by the Commission without interference from other quarters.
To reflect its independence, the Commission has the powers to reshuffle its RECs when the need arises without recourse to external forces.
For instance, Section 15 (h) of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution empowers the Commission to “delegate any of its powers to any Resident Electoral Commissioner”.
In the same token, Section 6 (2) (a) (b) of the Electoral Act provides that RECs “shall be answerable to the Commission” and hold office for five years.
However, Section 6 (3) stipulates the procedure for removing a REC. According to the section, a REC can only be removed by the President, subject to two-third majority of the Senate.
“The Resident Electoral Commissioner appointed pursuant to the Constitution may only be removed by the President. acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misconduct,” the law states.
What this implies is that 73 out of the 109 senators are needed to approve the removal of a REC. Pundits say this would be a tall order considering the frosty Executive-Legislature relationship and the division of the upper legislative chamber along Pro-Buhari and Pro-Saraki senators.
However, one of the observer organisations Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) cautioned against unfounded allegations against INEC Officials and warned political parties to desist from heating up the polity ahead of rescheduled elections.
The chairperson of TMG, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, warned political party’s gladiators to desist from further heating up the polity with the numerous allegations being peddled against INEC officials and security agencies over their compromise and affiliation with one political party or the other.
“TMG is concerned about these gladiators attempt to damage the credibility of some of the National Commissioners of INEC who over time have proven themselves as worthy ambassadors of Nigeria. We are more concerned in particular, about the petition submitted by the Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Akwa Ibom chapter calling for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, for alleged partisanship and other sundry offences ahead of the general polls in the country.
“The REC Igini has since refuted these allegations, to be clear however, these allegations deserve unfathomable scrutiny from the authorities, if Nigerians are to get a sense of closure from the terrible events of the recent past, when politicians subverted the democratic choices and aspirations of Nigerians through whimsical political gimmicks to gain electoral advantage.
“Nevertheless, the call for the removal and probe of REC Igini and other INEC top officials few days to the general elections on unfounded allegations, would only amount to a shady scheme to undermine the credibility of the electoral process and unnecessary meddling in the affairs of INEC by the ruling party and opposition.
“As we expect INEC to discharge its duty without fear or favour, we therefore call on all political parties to refrain from actions that are capable of overheating the polity as well as activities that tend to derail our fledgling democracy.
“We also urge various stakeholders to be vigilant as we move closer to the 2019 polls. TMG makes no mistake about the fact that the country wilål witness more of such allegations and counter-allegations from political parties as the 2019 polls approach.
“The current INEC has a reputation of having some of the fine brains in the country in their midst and this should be appreciated by all Nigerians, the postponement of the last Saturday may have affected the perception of Nigerians, we cannot but support them to deliver a credible electoral process, thus, any attempt to rupture their credibility will affect the democratic journey of this country.
“We also call for a general audit of logistic and operational processes of INEC after the elections and a panel to investigate its systems and processes to prevent future elections postponement. Nigeria’s electoral system should be experienced enough to avoid the kind of hiccups that is gradually defining our elections processes.”
