Ahead of this weekend’s Governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would not record results in areas where violence disrupts the process in the two states.
INEC Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi stated this when he appeared on a live television programme last Monday evening monitored by The Tide reporter in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
Osaze-Uzzi, said the commission was hoping that the elections in the two states would be concluded once, but expressed worry that polls were becoming very competitive.
He stated: “Well, certainly we are hopeful that the elections in both states would be concluded as first ballot. We know that the elections have become very competitive now, but one thing we assure Nigerians is that where there is violence, where violence disrupts elections, no result will come from there.
“We will not add those results. But if the margin of victory is so slim we might have to go back there until we get it right, we will be prepared not to reward bad behaviour. Certainly not!!”
On the peace accord recently signed by some political actors in those states, the INEC director said it was not enough to sign such peace agreements if the parties fail to adhere to it and show commitment to the process.
“If we regard the accord as a mere piece of paper with no serious commitment on the part of the signatories who have endorsed that document to play by the rules, then it would just be a piece of paper. It will be worthless. But if the political actors decide that yes we want peace and we don’t think our electoral victory is worth the blood of any ‘Kogite of Bayelsan’ then we will have a peaceful election.
“So really it is dependent on the attitude of the political class, the use of the youths and also the other stakeholders and what they are going to do about it. Of course the security agencies have a pivotal role to play in this election,” he said.
Oluwole-Uzzi further said the commission has gotten assurances from the security agencies to check violence in both Bayelsa and Kogi, saying: “I have to take their words for it.”
He reiterated that INEC has held series of interactions with the various security agencies, noting that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu is the co-chairman of the Inter-agency consultative committee on election security. A major meeting held two weeks ago.
“The commissioners of Police of both Kogi and Bayelsa were there, as well as the Resident Electoral Commissioners were there. And a series of security meetings are going on in the states.
“On our part, we have developed these tools for risk marking and share these findings with security agencies. We use both the electoral risk management tool and the electoral violence mitigation and advocacy tool.
“We have been advocating, we have deployed the directorate of alternative dispute resolution to talk to several stakeholders, including traditional rulers, candidates and political parties, the youths and other stakeholders to see what they can do in terms of peace building efforts.
“We (INEC) are a civil organization, we are not a security agency but we think in our part we can do some of these things to build confidence and to ensure that people are enlightened,” the INEC Director of Education and Publicity stated.

By: Dennis Naku