Concluding The Bayelsa Governorship Polls

Amidst skepticism by the major opposition po
litical party in the country, the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) over the possibility of free and fair elections, bereft of violence in Bayelsa State, the Nigeria Police assured Nigerians, not only of their neutrality but indeed readiness to ensure maximum security in the state.
In furtherance of that, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase deployed no fewer than 14,000 additional policemen in the State. Those were apart from very high ranking officers of the Deputy Inspector-General rank and below assigned to make a success of the Bayelsa elections.
On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) assured Nigerians that everything required for a hitch-free election in Bayelsa State was in place. According to the Chairman, of the INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmud, nobody will be allowed to vote in the election, if they don’t have Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). “I came to meet with the stakeholders in the state and to assure them of the commission’s readiness to ensure free and fair elections on Saturday.
“We have brought in 52,000 PVCs that are outstanding for the state and I would personally hand them over to the Resident Electoral Commissioner this morning”. (Tuesday, December 1, 2015). The INEC Chairman who went into Yenagoa with six other Commissioners assured that card readers would be the only instruments acceptable for the conduct of last Saturday’s elections, because according to him, “it is the best option available to the commission at the moment.
Strangely however, even with the heavy presence of security personnel and INEC’s readiness to ensure a credible election, the Bayelsa State elections turned –out to be inconclusive over reasons bordering on the same issues  that informed the amazing security and indeed the number of electoral personnel assigned to the state.
In the presence of men of the police command, unknown gunmen were said to have operated freely as party thugs, terrorising and intimating law-abiding voters and shooting sporadically.
In the insecurity that followed, it was learnt that no fewer than five persons were killed and several others injured, some of them fatally.
But what was most curious was the planning of the rescheduled elections of Sourthern Ijaw for Sunday. It was indeed a national embarrassment that electoral materials meant for that day’s rescheduled polls, were delayed till the night when voting should have been concluded, only for questionable results to emerge from the Creeks as  representing the will of the people of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
What was responsible for the delay of such sensitive materials, that ought be at the polling units as early as 8am arriving the LG at night only to end up in wrong hands? What has INEC done to punish such betrayal of trust that lended to question such betrayal of trust that lended to question INEC’s   neutrality.
For these and other reasons, elections in a state with barely eight local government areas was eventually declared inconclusive. And unlike in the Kogi State governorship elections, where, INEC announced without delay, date for a supplementary election, no date was fixed for the voided Southern Ijaw polls.
What is responsible for these double standards? INEC should prove beyond doubt that it is ready to deepen democracy in the land by ensuring uttermost neutrality in its dealings with political parties and candidates. It must indeed assure Nigerians that it is capable of conducting a nation wide general election that would pass all the tests of fairness and neutrality.
In spite of all its assurances, INEC’s handling of the Bayelsa elections was most shoddly, and the attitude of the security assigned to the state most embarrassing at best. These represent very potent signs of danger to our nascent democracy, which if not properly addressed, could jeopardize the modest gains recorded in our march to stronger democratic heights.
The Tide understands that results from seven out of eight local government areas have been collated and released, leaving that of Southern Ijaw. INEC should without further delay put its acts together and conclude the elections in Bayelsa State.
This time around, we expect the strong presence of an impartial media, local and international observers, political security men and women and indeed a neutral INEC that Nigeria shall be proud of. It must be re-emphasised that no one is good enough to govern another without that other’s consent. This is why the Nigerian security agencies must strive to protect the ordinary voter against the known forms of intimidation and violence that rendered the Bayelsa polls inconclusive in the first place.
Bayelsa’s future must be determined by majority of Bayelsans and not just the armed and powerful few. That’s the outcome that can confirm INEC’s neutrality and indeed police fairness and independence, in our march to deepen democracy in the land.