Indeed, INEC has failed Nigerians – EU
As widespread condemnations continue to trail the conduct of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential elections, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria Aikhunegbe A Malik has described the entire process as “shambolic.”
Malik who shared his thoughts in a WhatsApp group said: “Unarguably, the organization, and conduct of the elections, going by what I witnessed in my polling unit and reports from across the country, was most shambolic. The elections depict INEC as an inept, inefficient, and irresponsible electoral body, often ill-prepared for the solitary purpose of its establishment. For God’s sake, how can a major election organized by INEC every four years, in this age and time, be affected, bedeviled, and or characterized by such rather laughable features as insufficient ballot papers, absence of ink and ink pads, late arrival of electoral materials, absence of electoral officers, omissions of party logos, etc. This election, in terms of organisation, is only second to none for uselessness, in the annals of elections in Nigeria.
“Without a doubt, the INEC boss has a lot of explanations to make to Nigerians regarding the shameful conduct of his commission. With the humongous taxpayers’ money received from the national treasury and the four years window it had to prepare for the elections, nothing justifies the mockery of our electoral process as witnessed yesterday (Saturday 25th February. 2023).
Weighing into the conversation, a former Attorney General of Rivers State, Worgu Boms began: “There was this Technology used to accredit voters in the last Election. I have forgotten the name- Card Reader or so. Before its deployment, it was boastfully touted as a Game Changer that will do away with all that we complain against Elections in Nigeria. Now there is the deployment of another Technology with a romantic name, BVAS.
“Like in the prelude to the introduction of Card Reader, BVAS was touted as another Game Changer that is fool-proof against electoral malpractice. Question: Since Card Reader through BVAS, has anything changed Electorally? ‘We are where we are because of whom we are.’ Who essentially are we?
“We are One Kain People!
And throwing more light on the Card Reader, Human Rights Expert and International Election Observer, Saka Azimazi gave some explanations. “Card reader confirms the card was issued by the authorised body and not forged. If I have 20 cards in my pocket, it can confirm they are genuine cards. Selling of cards is, therefore, no big deal.
“BIVAS confirms that the person who presents the card is the ACTUAL person to whom the card is issued. It does this through the biodata of fingerprint and facial identifications. It then records how many people it accredited after such confirmation. It also confirms that the details on the PVC are correct as the BIVAS shows exact details on the PVC. No one can present another’s card and you cannot have overvoting in any polling unit. Please see Osun State governorship election. Ballot box snatching or multiple thumb printing are useless ventures.”
Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has announced to everyone that cares to listen that the election was greatly compromised by INEC. In a statement issued on Monday, Obasanjo remonstrated that “it is no secret that INEC officials, at the operational level, have been allegedly compromised to make what should have worked not to work and to revert to manual transmission of results which is manipulated and the results doctored.
“The Chairman of INEC may claim ignorance but he cannot fold his hands and do nothing when he knows that election process has been corrupted and most of the results that are brought outside BVAS and Server are not true reflections of the will of Nigerians who have made their individual choice.
“At this stage, we do not need wittingly or unwittingly to set this country on fire with the greed, irresponsibility, and unpatriotic act of those who allegedly gave money to INEC officials for perversion and those who collected the blood money. Let me appeal to the Chairman of INEC, if his hands are clean, to save Nigeria from the looming danger and disaster which is just waiting to happen. If the Chairman can postpone elections four days to the election, he can do everything to rectify the errors of the last two days – no BVAS, no result to be acceptable; and no uploading through Server, no result to be acceptable.
“Whereas BVAS and Servers have been manipulated or rendered inactive, such results must be declared void and inadmissible for election declaration…”
Also, the European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria concluded that INEC failed Nigerians. EU noted that: “During the early stages of collation, presidential result forms from polling units were not displayed on the Results Viewing Portal (IReV), while Senate and House of Representative results were slowly published.
“Presidential election result forms started to be uploaded after 10 pm on election day, raising concerns and reaching only 20 percent by noon on 26 February. Later the same evening, INEC explained the delay with ‘technical hitches.’”
EU expressed concern that INEC with a larger staff and budget than most other government agencies, frequently experiences planning, logistical, and technical failures that make it easier for politicians to influence election outcomes.
