Politics
‘Democracy: All Hands Must Be On Deck’
I think there’s no Nigerian that is not one way or the other a politician. I would also like to see a situation where performance by the chairman is rewarded and non- performance is sanctioned. That should be the primary message to whosoever that is appointed. It should be performance –based (and if the chairman is found wanting in any way, he should be sanctioned accordingly.
The waiting game for the appointment of an umpire for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, comes to an end this week, with the naming of the new INEC Chairman, However , names like Prof. Dora Akunyilli, Information Minister and Olisa Agbakoba, immediate past president of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and former president of the Civil Liberties Organisation ( CLO) had earlier crept up for the plumb job but Jonathan kept every one guessing. Nigerians too have reacted swiftly saying, the just- appointed umpire must not be a card-carrying member of any of the political parties or favour any party so as to guarantee the unbiasity of the umpire.
A frontline member of the House of Representatives and chairman, House committee on legislative compliance, Hon Daemi Kunaiyi-Akpanah, while contributing to the ragging national discourse on the new electoral umpire made a strong case for strong character, as what the new umpire must not only posses but exhibit before, during and after the 2011 election.
Kunaiyi – Akpanah, who spoke with The Tide On Sunday in Abuja was emphatic that the new umpire should be sanctioned if found wanting in the discharge of his statutory duty and should equally be rewarded if he plays according to the rules. He advised the new INEC chairman to strive to live above board because to whom much is given, much is expected, especially since the cry for credible election has reached the roof top in the country, with everyone in the country and indeed the international community led by the United States insisting that the country should get it right with the 2011 elections.
His word: “I think that in appointing people for sensitive positions, due consideration must be given to their character and whoever that is appointed must be able to live up to expectation at the ‘Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and carry out their function without fear or favour”.
Reminded that Nigerians were generally opposed to the appointment of a card-carrying member of a political party as chairman of the electoral body, he snapped, “I think there’s no Nigerian that is not one way or the other a politician. I would also like to see a situation where performance by the chairman is rewarded and non- performance is sanctioned. That should be the primary message to whosoever that is appointed. It should be performance –based (and if the chairman is found wanting in any way, he should be sanctioned accordingly”.
Kunaiyi–Akpanah contended that this should be so because democracy was fought for and won, and should therefore not be treated with levity. The legacy of those he identified as “heroes of democracy”, he said, should be sustained, even with the 2011 election, while applauding all those that contributed in one way or the other in ensuring that democracy thrives for the past eleven years in the country. The Rivers State-born legislator, placed them in three groups. First are those who have done what is right; under the democratic setting and strove to conform with the tenets of democracy. Next is the military – for making this democracy work by not truncating the process in their usual manner of staging a coup-de–tat, and lastly – “every one in our society; those who continue to question how they are governed”.
He charged the heroes of democracy not to relent in playing the roles they are known to have played these past eleven years as they have helped in no small measure in taking democracy to its present height in the nation. Kunaiyi –Akpanah also advised that for democracy to attend greater height in the nation, all hands must be on deck in ensuring the success of the forth–coming general elections.
Kunaiyi-Akpanah also commented how Nigeria faired under its democratic experiment. What are the gains and pains associated with this democratic practice? The frontline member of the House of Representatives and Chairman Committee on Legislative Compliance believes that the nation has faired well, although not without pains and sacrifice. He said that the learning process which began eleven years ago is on course, although the nation has not reached the destination point. “Well, I think it (democracy) is working in Nigeria and there is progress. I believe we are making progress. I don’t believe it’s the destination yet for Nigeria, it’s (an ongoing) journey”.
Representing Akuku Toru/Asari Toru Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Kunaiyi-Akpanah delved into the system of government called democracy when he asserted that democracy is supposed to be a system that ensures that the people are winners in every sense of the word, and operates through three arms of government –Executive, Judiciary and Legislature to achieve its purpose.
Kunaiyi-Akpanah contended that, the only thing that makes a government democratic is the judiciary which job is to ensure that there are proper laws for good governance. When viewed against the backdrop, he said Nigeria could really be said to have faired well. “Nigeria has undergone tremendous strides; bearing in mind that the legislature is only eleven years old (although the other two arms of government have been in existence before the advent of democracy) and people are really coming to understand its true function in the sustenance of democracy”.
He said Nigerians were beginning to feel the impact of the most popular and globally accepted form of government as dividends of the system were being delivered to them and the people themselves were being carried along and made part of the process. The House chairman on legislative compliance insisted that, yes I believe that the electorate is beginning to see the impact of democracy. What ever that is going on in government, you (the electorate) can ask questions (unlike under the military). You make laws, you consult (the electorate), and public hearings are form of getting views of the people (and their input) before making laws.
Kunaiyi Akpanah drew the attention to the issue of budgeting under the democratic setting, which he opined is fairly consultative in an effort to ensure that there is equity in the distribution of resources across the country during these past eleven years, adding that he thinks that the people are better off for it. What is the way forward for the nation’s democracy and the ace legislator answered “the most important thing we need in our country is to run a government of law and order, advising that in the years ahead, for the sustenance of democracy, the rule of law must be applied dispassionately to all segments of the society in such a way that even government should not be above the law, adding that, when sanctions are applied, those sanctions should not be applied selectively.
He believes that if the laws of the land are applied without fear or favour, irrespective of whose ox is gored and the letter of the constitution followed to the later, the nation would begin to see more gains of democracy.
Justus Awaji, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun deploying non-sensitive materials to the zones as it prepares for the 2027 general election.
Acting Chairman of the commission, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday at a bench-marking meeting with a delegation of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now,” Gumus said.
She said the commission had completed nine of its scheduled activities and was preparing for the next phase.
“We are preparing for the election next year and we have activities lined up. So far, we have been able to complete nine activities and we are still preparing for the next level of activities,” she said.
Gumus said the commission’s leadership had just concluded a tour of the country’s six zones to assess their level of preparedness.
“The purpose was to go round the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, their challenges and what to do. We concluded last week and we can see from our tour that we are really going towards the election proper,” she said.
On Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the acting chairman said production had been completed and distribution to the states was well advanced.
“As of today, we can say that PVCs have been produced and the first, second batches, most of the states have received them. Their PVC collection is ongoing. All those who are supposed to be the voters are supposed to receive their PVCs, and if they don’t have them, it is also another challenge,” Gumus said.
She added that capacity building was under way for staff at the headquarters and in the states, and that the procurement and deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS devices were also ongoing.
On diaspora voting, Gumus said the commission could not proceed for now because the law did not provide for it.
“Here, because we go by the law, in our electoral law, it is not included there, so we cannot go on for the diaspora voting for now until we amend the electoral law,” she said.
The acting chairman said the commission had arranged for its directors to hold an interactive session with the Kenyan team and present papers on the work of their departments.
Leading the delegation, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina, said the IEBC team was in Nigeria to benchmark ahead of Kenya’s general election in August 2027.
He said the team was studying how Nigeria handled its diaspora population and special voting groups, as Kenya sought to widen voting rights for citizens living abroad.
“Currently we have about 12 of them who voted in the last general election, but there is intention to expand to around, I think, 26,” Parashina said, referring to the countries where Kenyans abroad vote.
He said the expansion was a constitutional requirement backed by Kenyan court rulings, and would be enforced progressively.
Parashina said Nigeria’s election, which he noted would come in two rounds, would be closely watched across Africa.
“Everyone is looking at what Nigeria will do because it is the biggest democracy in Africa. The success of Nigeria remains a great success to Kenya and indeed to the continent,” he added.
The High Commissioner thanked INEC for receiving the team despite a tight schedule and wished the commission success.
Governor Douye Diri has set a target of at least one million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Bayelsa State in the 2027 presidential election, while charging the newly inaugurated All Progressives Congress (APC) State Campaign Council to prioritise reconciliation, party unity and collective electoral mobilisation.
Governor Diri gave the charge at the inauguration of the 20-member campaign council at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa, where he warned that internal divisions could undermine the party’s efforts to secure victory for President Tinubu and other candidates at the federal and state levels.
Governor Diri urged party members who were not appointed to the council to support its activities by taking the APC’s message to communities, wards and polling units across the state.
He specifically charged the campaign team to mobilise at least one million votes for President Tinubu, arguing that Bayelsa’s voting strength had increased and should be reflected in the 2027 election results.
“I give you a target that in Bayelsa, we must not bring less than one million votes for Mr President. You are going to campaign, and you have a lot to talk about the President. He has done so much for our people,” the governor said.
He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the second phase of the Nembe-Brass Road, interventions in the power sector, federal appointments for Bayelsa indigenes and the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy among the achievements the campaign should present to voters.
The governor particularly praised President Tinubu for the coastal highway project, arguing that it reflected federal attention to the development needs of coastal communities.
“No president, alive or dead, has remembered the coastal people and coastal states to say let us do this signature project from Lagos to Calabar. The first president to think about it is Bola Tinubu, and those were the demands of the Ijaw people,” he said.
Governor Diri also expressed hope that a second term for President Tinubu would provide an opportunity to advance demands for fiscal federalism, greater resource control and state policing, which he described as longstanding aspirations of the Niger Delta.
He said the President had shown indications of addressing some of the demands of younger Nigerians and argued that re-election would allow the administration to consolidate its reforms.
The governor further cautioned campaigners against personal attacks and abusive exchanges with political opponents, insisting that the APC should focus its campaign on issues, policies and achievements.
The governor’s mobilisation directive comes amid criticism from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has questioned his commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election campaign, alleging that APC campaign billboards erected across Yenagoa promote other party candidates without featuring the President.
The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Ikaebimo Mark, said the billboards showed Governor Diri urging voters to support APC candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections without identifying President Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Mark described the omission as an indication that the governor was not fully aligned with the APC’s national leadership.
“When we said that the governor, Senator Douye Diri, is not supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we knew exactly what we were saying. Now Governor Douye Diri has erected APC campaign billboards across Bayelsa State without Tinubu’s picture. He is even afraid to associate himself with the photograph of the presidential candidate of his own party. How can this governor claim to be supporting President Tinubu?” he said.
The PDP, however, maintained that the governor’s public campaign posture raised questions about his commitment to the President’s re-election bid. Its allegation over the billboards now places the issue of the relationship between the state APC leadership and the party’s national campaign among the political questions likely to feature in Bayelsa’s preparations for 2027.
The PDP’s allegation has introduced a fresh political dimension to the APC’s preparations in Bayelsa, even as Governor Diri publicly called on party leaders and members to close ranks and mobilise support for all its candidates.
“Every person picked as a member of this campaign council was carefully scrutinised. I want to tell you that our campaign team is loaded. We parade the best candidates among all the parties in Bayelsa State, and there is no doubt about that,” he said.
He urged members to remain focused and united, warning that political opponents could exploit any divisions within the party.
“Our unity is very important because they would want to feast on our disunity. We will not give them that opportunity. Please, as you carry out this assignment, do not take your eyes off the target,” Hon. Ogoriba said.
SP Edafe explained that during the meeting, the organisers were briefed on the identified security threats and advised against embarking on an open-road procession.
Instead, the police reportedly recommended that the political activities be conducted at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
However, the Command alleged that the organisers disregarded the security advice and proceeded with the road procession.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has condemned the political violence that erupted in Asaba, the state capital, on Saturday, confirming that one person was killed while four others sustained serious injuries.
The government described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable, warning political parties and their supporters against actions capable of threatening public peace, security and democratic participation in the state.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, the government reiterated its zero tolerance for political violence, intimidation and other forms of political misconduct.
Mr Aniagwu said the government had repeatedly cautioned political parties against engaging in activities capable of disrupting the peace, insisting that the incident could have been avoided if the organisers had followed security advice.
According to him, the police had advised the organisers to cancel the proposed street march and instead conduct their political campaign at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
He expressed concern that the advice was allegedly disregarded, resulting in a confrontation that claimed one life and left four other people seriously injured.
The government subsequently called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
Mr Aniagwu further warned that the state government would not tolerate politically motivated attacks against any individual, regardless of political affiliation.
He maintained that Delta State remained safe for residents and visitors, stressing that the government would not allow the actions of individuals or groups to undermine the prevailing peace and security in the state.
The government also urged political parties, their leaders and supporters to conduct their political activities within the confines of the law and demonstrate respect for human life, public order and the rights of other citizens.
The latest development follows an attack on supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) during a political procession in Asaba, which reportedly left several participants injured and campaign vehicles vandalised.
The government’s condemnation comes amid growing concerns over political violence and the safety of opposition supporters as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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