Between Edo Polls And Rivers Re-run

For reasons that are still
debatable, Rivers State was named among the first of states that were said to be flash points of political violence in the run-up to the 2015 general elections in Nigeria. In what is now history, the polls were conducted in an atmosphere that was not any much different from what obtained in other states across the country. Little wonder therefore that the Prof. Atahiru Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, collated and declared results in Rivers State as it did in others.
However, what INEC did not see as sufficient grounds for annulment, the Election Petition Tribunal adjudged enough grounds to cancel some results and ordered a re-run of the polls while upholding others.
Consequently, the national electoral body fixed March 19, 2016 to conduct a fresh exercise for the affected Senatorial, House of Representatives as well as state House of Assembly seats. In the run-up to the rescheduled polls, the predictions of an unfavourable atmosphere for peaceful electoral activities resurfaced. The polls were held under a different leadership at INEC. Prof. Mahmud Yakubu had been given the job of chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission while Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak had been redeployed to Rivers State as the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC.
As it turned out, between March 19 and March 20, 2016, the electoral umpire declared the conduct of the rescheduled elections in Rivers State inconclusive as it pronounced the exercise out rightly cancelled in some constituencies and suspended some others in other constituencies.
Whether the alibi of widespread electoral violence advanced by INEC was sufficient or not, it provided perfect excuse for the commission to wield the big stick. It was not until July, 2016 before INEC came up with another date (July 30, this time around) for the conclusion of the suspended and or cancelled polls.
As if it was not enough punishment that Rivers State and its people have been without representation in the Senate of the Federal Republic, having had only five representatives out of thirteen in the House of Representatives and as many as eleven constituencies yet to be represented in the State House of Assembly, Hajiya Amina Zakari, INEC Commissioner in charge of operations, announced in the twilight of July that the July 30 date had been reconsidered. The reason she said that in the thinking of the commission the security situation in Rivers State was not conducive enough for them and that they couldn’t consider any other date close to September 10, 2016 when the Edo State Governorship election had been fixed.
According to Mrs Zakari, the suspended and or canceled rescheduled re-run legislative elections in Rivers State may be held only in the closing days of October, 2016. She said that the focus and the concentration of the commission at the time was on the Edo governorship polls.
That the much focused and prioritized Edo polls did not hold on the appointed date because INEC postponed it only about 72 hours to the time is no longer news. What has however remained controversial and continued to agitate the minds of many keen observers is the circumstances surrounding that decision.
Prior to that final decision the police and the department of State Services, DSS, jointly issued a warning to INEC to shift the set election date because of terror alert involving a number of states including Edo during the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Kabir on the 12th and 13th of September, 2016.
“For Rivers State, there were claims of insecurity. In Edo, there were no claims of insecurity”, Orage St. Franklyn, lawyer and senior special Assistant to the Governor of Rivers State on Social Media, pointed out.
According to Barr St. Franklyn the reason of a possible terror attack adduced by the police and the DSS was only a product of a collaboration between the security agencies and the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, to show strength and thereby gain some political dividends.
For him, the fact that the police as well as INEC had mobilized and deployed men and materials into Edo for the elections did not support the claim of a veritable terror threat and that the security agencies were inadvertently indicting themselves of being unable to provide protecton for Nigeria and Nigerians.
“It’s a very disturbing issue and it’s a source of worry for a lot of us”, adding that it’s embarrassing and it’s a shame” .
The Senior aide to the Rivers State Governor said he considered the development as a strategy by the ruling APC to undermine the will of the people of Edo State and in Rivers as well.
“Insecurity is a strategy of the APC to undermine our democracy. For Rivers State it’s the same strategy. For Edo State, it’s the same strategy”, he alleged.
He averred that the claim of insecurity by the security agencies and INEC was exaggerated in order to deny the people their legitimate stake in the polity and urged INEC to quickly put its house in order so as not to jeopardize the future of the country.
“Even in Rivers State, what are the security issues that will be the reason why a state will be denied its stake in the federation”, he queried, adding that the Senate of the Federal Republic may be argued to be improperly constituted since there was no single member from Rivers State contrary to the provision of the constitution setting up the upper legislative chamber.
“What is happening is actually a shock and it’s taking very many of us by surprise”, Comrade Christian Lekia, President, Niger Delta Coalition Against Violence and spokesman of the Civil Society Platform in Rivers State, said.
According to Comrade Lekia, the circumstances surrounding the election postponement were unnecessary and uncalled for since the state does not rank high among states with a violent political out look in the country and the Niger Delta region in the current dispensation.
While he admonished the major political actors in that state to do everything in their power to reject any thing associated with political violence, he tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission to come out clean and discharge its duties conscientiously.
“As an organization, INEC ought to have put everything in place. They’re an agency of the Federal Government that is in control of security and I don’t really see any justification for that postponement”, he said.
“Agencies and institutions of the Federal Government who ordinarinly should have played whatever role in the conduct of whatever election should submit in terms of support to INEC”, he said but advised the commission not to “conduct itself in a manner that will make it look as if there’s a conspiracy between one political party and the commission”.
He said even though the situation in both Rivers and Edo States were not exactly the same, INEC had not discharged itself well in both cases.
“INEC must do everything to end this shame game”, he emphasized, adding that “No reason was reasonable enough for INEC not to conduct the remaining re-run (legislative elections in Rivers State)”.
He said that the people of Rives State are ready to have the re-run election in October and urged electoral commission to live up to its constitutional responsibility and to justify its continued existence and funding from tax payer’s money.
“If democracy is people centered and there’s a set of people that are deprived of making their contribution because they’re without representation in the legislative chambers, as sensitive as it is, it will not be in the interest of this democracy at all”, he noted and strongly advised the leadership of INEC to either deliver on their mandate or resign their positions.”If this INEC cannot conduct election, they should resign. If they can conduct election, they should prove to Nigerians that they’re reedy to work”, he said and threw the same challenge to the security agencies.
“This is one moment of need for those in the police, the Department of State Services and other security agencies that need to collaborate to ensure that the tide of insecurity is stemmed and things like elections are conducted”, he reiterated.

Opaka Dokubo