Featured
Of Inconclusive Elections …My Fears For 2019
When Walt Whitman once said, ‘I know nothing grander, better exercise, better digestion, more positive proof of the past, the triumphant result of faith in human kind, than a well-contested …. “election”, he was, among other variables, underscoring the completeness of a people’s right to decide who leads them.
Such a process must be dependable, free from partiality on the part of umpires and supervisors and above all else, it must enjoy the faith of the people. A process that lacks the people’s confidence, exudes partisanship and indeed betrayal of the voters’ trust cannot be the fascination Whitman extols.
Nigeria’s electoral processes in the recent past give little hope of delivering complete and conclusive results. From Kogi to Bayelsa and then Rivers, there is indeed little to hope for in 2019, because all the democratic gains that, for the first time, ushered an opposition party, in government appear to have frittered away like unwanted garbage.
What remains is outright partisanship of the supposed umpire, who now abuses the right to annul questionable poll results, to tilt the pendulum in favour of a friendly party. It is now, the easiest way to rig elections and shortchange the people.
Before now, attention was on the ballot box. So, to rig, a politician must have an army of well-trained thugs, as fit as rugby players, who would snatch the box and sprint as farther away to as possible, to a safe place, only as a Usain Bolt can. Thereafter, the stolen box is sneaked into the collation centre and counted in favour of the box robbers.
With time, ballot boxes became less attractive in preference for authentic poll results sheets. That was when election results got written in hotel rooms, long before the elections, and ballots stolen to march the concocted figures. Once such results get their way through a compromised electoral officer, through a reasonable cash reward, the elections are won and lost. In all such cases, the rigging politician must have accomplices within the electoral commission.
Today, with the awareness of the people and their new willingness to defend their vote, rigging is possible only if one ignites violence in areas he or she is less popular. For a local government with nine wards, may be unevenly shared between two contestants, with a ratio of five to four.
To win, the less popular candidate with four supporting wards only needs to secure votes of his four wards, concede defeat in three of his opponent’s three and create security breaches in the two remaining wards. With a friendly electoral officer in the commission, result of those two unfriendly wards would be cancelled and with four wards, the less popular becomes winner.
One of the easiest ways to create such security breach is to use uniformed and armed men to attempt drive some of the opposing politician’s many supporters away from the polling station, and with little resistance, some gun shots are fired into the air. Thereafter, a good make-up artiste is commissioned to create dead men and women for the social media and as evidence to the electoral body, confirming how insecure the opponent’s territory could be for free, fair and credible elections. And balm! Those elections are cancelled.
If that fails, apparently because of lack of in-roads made into the politician’s supposed safe zone; when cancelation of two wards alone could not guarantee victory, the electoral body would cancel many more and declare such elections inconclusive. Most elections declared inconclusive cannot be too distant from these reasons. And nothing an unfriendly politician can do, to sway the electoral umpire to his favour, especially if such an umpire is acting the devilish script of power from above.
From the little Nigerians have witnessed about inconclusive elections, very few have faith in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free, fair and credible election in 2019. Apart from lacking the capacity, integrity and impartiality needed to do right, INEC’s apparent unwillingness to distance itself from partisan ends, makes it impossible for the supposed umpires to deliver a complete electoral end as envisaged by Whitman.
These fears were confirmed last week, when Chairman of the INEC, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu accepted that the commission cannot guarantee that the 2019 elections would be conclusive, saying, “inconclusive elections did not start with me”. He then blamed such shameful ends on insecurity, saying, if major players play according to the rules, INEC would have no choice other than to return conclusive results, but cannot be blamed for declaring inconclusive results if any form of insecurity is reported.
Insecurity of any kind is an indictment on the Federal Government whose responsibility it is to ensure security of lives and property. The ordinary Nigerian should not be punished for the incompetence of the centre to do right.
This is why the confession that INEC cannot guarantee that the 2019 general elections will be conclusive should worry many well-meaning Nigerians.
For a commission chairman, under whose watch, 50 percent of elections conducted have been declared inconclusive, even with, Bayelsa, with as few as eight local government areas, cannot be depended upon to conduct a conclusive national election. And with the confession by the Chief electoral officer himself, the country requires no better reason to overhaul the electoral process.
First, the INEC Chairman needs to disqualify himself. Second, the Federal Government must properly constitute the electoral body as required by law. Third, the government in power must give sufficient reason to Nigerians to believe that the people’s vote would count.
Prior to the emergence of the current INEC Chairman, many Nigerians had canvassed that the replacement for Prof Attahiru Jega, the former Chairman of INEC be sourced from the Southern part of Nigeria since the new President is from the North, and also, since under the Jonathan Presidency, the electoral umpire was of the Northern extraction. All President Buhari needed to do, was to choose from the many men and women of integrity in the South for a replacement for Jega. But it seemed, no Southerner earned the President’s thrust for the job and so settled for Prof. Yakubu.
Now that the umpire himself has confessed to his lack of capacity to guarantee conclusive elections, now perhaps is the right time to make the desired change and give Nigerians a reason to believe in INEC.
At a time when Nigerians expect the right template to make the people’s vote count, the current crop of INEC commissioners cannot be the required solution because, from all indications, they have become part of the problem.
Nigerians are no fools. The right change can only come when the people form an ample part of the process and team up with eventual victors to work towards such change.
Results declared by a partisan INEC cannot inspire patriotic following by the people. It can only breed discontent and even civil disobedience. With so much hunger and anger in the land, denial of the people’s right to choose their preferred representatives in government shall be counter-productive, criminal at worse.
Now therefore, is the time to restructure INEC to earn the trust and confidence of the ordinary Nigerian?
My Agony is that all the gains made of our democracy have all been allowed to fritter-away by politicians who fear a harsh verdict by the same people they have failed to provide positive change.
Soye Wilson Jamabo
President Bola Tinubu yesterday departed Abuja for Makkah in Saudi Arabia, to perform Umrah (lesser Hajj), an Islamic spiritual exercise involving a pilgrimage to the holy city.
The Airbus A330-200 carrying the president took off at 2:20 pm local time, yesterday.
Tinubu was seen off at the airport by the Governors of Kwara, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Borno, Babagana Zulum; Kaduna, Uba Sani; Sokoto, Ahmad Aliyu; Jigawa, Umar Namadi; and Yobe, Mai Mala Buni.
Also present were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Mexico, Reno Omokri, alongside other government officials.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had revealed this in a statement signed Wednesday titled ‘President Tinubu departs Abuja for Makkah to pray for the nation.’
According to the statement, the visit will afford the President an opportunity for spiritual reflection, devotion, and prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability, and continued progress.
“While in Makkah, President Tinubu will perform the religious rites associated with Umrah, seeking Allah’s guidance and blessings for Nigeria and its people,” the statement said.
Before departing Abuja, Tinubu commissioned some equipment acquired by the Nigerian Air Force for its operations at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The President is expected to return to the country next week after completing the spiritual exercise.
Thursday’s visit to Makkah marks the second time Tinubu is performing Umrah since assuming office.
The President had previously visited the holy city in November 2023, shortly after the Saudi-African Summit held in Riyadh, where he also prayed for divine guidance in leading Nigeria.
The trip to Saudi Arabia is the latest in a series of foreign engagements by the President since he was sworn in on May 29, 2023.
Tinubu has visited more than 30 countries in over 50 unique and recurrent trips.
They include countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East, including France, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, India, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Senegal, and several others, on a combination of bilateral, multilateral, and diplomatic assignments.
Meanwhile, Tinubu has unveiled PenCare, a national healthcare initiative designed to provide free medical services to pensioners, beginning with low-income retirees.
Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, at the opening of the National Pension Week in Abuja, yesterday, said the initiative formed part of his administration’s welfare package for senior citizens.
PenCare is designed as a national retiree well-being programme aimed at improving access to essential healthcare, particularly for pensioners with limited financial resources.
In his address, themed “Pensions for All: Building a Secure Future Together,” the President said a strong pension system was both a social protection necessity and a pillar of economic transformation under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the pension system could also mobilise long-term domestic savings, deepen financial markets and support productive investments.
Tinubu described pensions as an obligation to workers who had served the country, rather than a favour from the government.
“A pension is not a favour granted by Government. It is a wage earned, deferred and held in trust. It is a promise. And this Administration has resolved that the promise will be kept,” he said.
He added that the success of the pension system should be measured by the security and dignity it provided retirees, rather than the volume of funds accumulated.
“Above all, no Nigerian who has served this nation will be forgotten in retirement. Nigeria will keep faith with those who kept faith with Nigeria,” he said.
The President said his administration had taken steps to restore dignity, security and value to the Contributory Pension Scheme.
He also said he had approved a N758 billion Federal Government Pension Bond to settle accrued pension rights and strengthen the Pension Protection Fund.
“That was not an accounting exercise. It was an act of restitution to Nigerians who served their country and were made to wait for what they had earned,” Tinubu said.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has insisted that the June 30, 2027 deadline for pension fund administrators and custodians to complete their recapitalisation remains unchanged.
Oloworaran said the exercise was necessary to strengthen institutions responsible for safeguarding the retirement savings of millions of Nigerian workers.
“We are not changing our minds. The industry must move beyond the growth in pension assets to building institutions strong enough to safeguard the savings of millions of Nigerian workers.
“Size is what we have achieved. Strength is what we now demand,” she said.
The Rivers State Government has called on stakeholders, community leaders, parents and relevant education authorities to intensify efforts to identify and enrol out-of-school children across Nigeria, stressing that every child deserves access to quality and inclusive education.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara made the call, yesterday, during the regional campaign on engaging community structures to promote the enrolment of out-of-school children and the regional flag-off of the 2026/2027 enrolment drive for southern states, held in Port Harcourt.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Dagogo Wokoma, Governor Fubara reaffirmed that education remains a fundamental pillar of sustainable development and emphasised the need to ensure that no child is left behind because of economic hardship, social background or other barriers to schooling.
He noted that expanding access to education was essential to promoting sustainable development, social inclusion and equal opportunities, enabling children to reach their full potential and contribute meaningfully to society.
The governor urged participating states and communities to translate their commitments into concrete and measurable actions by reaching vulnerable children, strengthening community engagement and encouraging parents and guardians to make their children’s education a priority.
He reiterated the state government’s commitment to initiatives aimed at expanding access to education, particularly for children excluded from formal schooling.
“Rivers State remains committed to supporting initiatives that expand access to inclusive and quality education, particularly for vulnerable children who may have missed the opportunity to attend formal schools,” Fubara stressed.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, described the growing number of out-of-school children as one of the major challenges confronting the education sector.
She called for a collective and collaborative approach among governments, communities, parents and other stakeholders to address the problem, stressing the need to ensure that no Nigerian child is denied the fundamental right to education.
The programme was organised by the Universal Basic Education Commission in collaboration with the Rivers State Government, as part of efforts to strengthen community participation and promote school enrolment across the southern states for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared the sum of N2.428 trillion among the Federal Government, 36 states government and the 774 Local Government Councils (LGCs) as revenue for the month of September.
The Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Mr Bawa Mokwa, said this in a statement in Abuja, yesterday.
Mokwa said the allocation was approved by FAAC at its October meeting held in Abuja.
He said the N2.428 trillion distributable revenue comprised of statutory revenue of N1.672 trillion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N756.587 billion.
Mokwa quoted the FAAC communiqué as saying that total gross revenue of N3.913 trillion was available in the month of September 2026.
He said a total deduction for cost of collection was N131.758 billion while total transfers, refunds and savings of N1.352 trillion.
According to him, a gross statutory revenue of N3.096 trillion was received for the month of September 2026.
“This was higher than the sum of N2.850 trillion received in the preceeding month by N246.384 billion.
“Gross revenue of N816.872 billion was available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) in September 2026.
“This was lower than the N834.843 billion available in the month of August 2026 by N17.972 billion,” he said.
Mokwa explained that the Federal Government received N832.242 billion and the state governments received the sum of N799.872 billion.
He said the LGCs received N560.660 billion, while the sum of N236.049 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting state as derivation revenue.
Mokwa said in the N1.672 billion distributable statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N756.583 billion and the State Governments received N383.749 billion.
He said the LGCs received N295.855 billion and the sum of N236.049 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.
The director said from the N756.587 billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N75.659 billion, the State Governments received N416.123 billion and the LGCs received N264.805 billion.
“In September 2026, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Petroleum Royalties, Import Duty, CET Levies and Excise Duty increased significantly.
“Also, Companies Income Tax (CIT), CGT & SDT, Value Added Tax (VTA), Mineral Royalties, and Gas Flared Penalty, Rental Gas Flared Fee and Misc. Oil Revenue decreased considerably,” he said.
-
Sports4 days agoNigerian Trio Target Titles At PFL Africa Finals
-
Education4 days agoFCE Yola Graduates 3,555 Teachers , Seeks Upgrade to University
-
Niger Delta4 days agoDiri Restates Stance On Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway
-
Niger Delta4 days agoC’River, NUJ Pay Tribute To Late Guardian Editor
-
News4 days agoNDLEA Recovers Tons Of Illicit Drug Consignments In Nine States
-
Opinion4 days agoChecking Voter Apathy In Nigeria’s Electoral Process
-
Politics4 days ago2027: DICKSON’S EX-ALLY VOWS TO WORK AGAINST NDC INTEREST IN BAYELSA
-
Politics4 days ago2027: GROUP PLEDGES 40,000 SUPPORTERS FOR COALITION CANDIDATES IN RIVERS