EMEKA NZE examines the highlights of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) parley with leaders of political parties, the civil society organisations and the media last week
Postponement & protests
The third quarterly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) meeting with relevant stakeholders would have been concluded early this week going by the original timetable but for the interruption orchestrated by the protests which erupted nationwide forcing the commission to postpone sinedie what was left of the parleys.
At the time the protests assumed a daredevil dimension with wanton looting of property and hacking to death of some persons in some states last Thursday, INEC in a swift move, same day, announced the shift of what was remaining of the meetings, namely: the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCS) and the meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners schedules for last Friday and today (Monday), respectively.
But INEC had covered some grounds with the meetings which commenced last Monday with the leadership of political parties, the Civil Society Organisations which held Tuesday and the Wednesdays meeting with media executives.
As usual, the very peculiarities of the three levels of meeting were manifest not without springing some surprises. At the meeting with political party leaders, what mattered most to the INEC chairman was preparations for the Edo state and Ondo states elections which he briefed all stakeholders was making remarkable progress.
For the Edo state governorship polls coming up on Saturday 21st September 2024, the INEC chairman said, “preparations are going on in earnest.
“I am glad to report that we have recovered from the torrential rainfall that resulted in the severe flooding of our state headquarters in Benin City two months ago.
“The damage to the physical infrastructure has been fixed. Vehicles have been repaired while other movable and immovable facilities have been serviced, refurbished or are being gradually replaced.
“We have delivered additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to Edo state for the training of election duty personnel as well as contingency for election day support.”
The INEC chairman reminded leaders of political parties of their obligation to submit the list of agents by uploading the required information, including photographs, to the dedicated portal.
“This requirement is listed as item nine on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election released by the Commission nearly a year ago on 26th September 2023.
“As at Sunday 28th July 2024, 14 political parties have uploaded the details of 38,354 polling agents and 819 collation agents for the Edo state governorship election. Three parties are yet to upload a single polling agent while five parties have not uploaded a single agent for Ward, Local Government and state collation centers.
“The deadline is tomorrow Tuesday 30th July 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at midnight. I urge you to ensure that you meet the deadline so that the Commission can produce the accreditation tags and deliver them to you for distribution to your agents in good time.
The campaign period has often been characterised by acrimony and tension”, adding that “it is also a period of verbal abuse and physical confrontation among parties, candidates and their supporters.
“The Commission finds the recent event in Edo state resulting in the death of a security personnel worrisome. Happily, there has been no incident known to the Commission since then. Nevertheless, the Commission will meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
Labour Party chair excused from meeting
Also at the INEC parley with the leadership political parties, the Labour Party National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, like any of his colleagues majestically sauntered into the boardroom unsuspectingly that he was about to be given the boot.
Abure who was used to dotting the Adam Oshiomhole style of Comrade wears, was appeared in an oxblood coloured agbada inside the conference room venue of the meeting and cheerfully exchanged pleasantries with colleagues, especially, the National Chairman of the Allied People’s Party (APP) who doubles as chairman of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle.
No one had inkling that something was about to happen except that the embattled Labour Party Chairman was seated on a chair earmarked for the official of the New Nigeria’s People’s Party (NNPP).
Perhaps, he only knew he was not invited, reason why he had no seat labelled against his party like others but temporarily resolved to perch on that meant for the NNPP leader.
The error could have passed for an oversight but a security personnel, the uniformed type, approached him and whispered into his ears, and pronto! the gangling Labour Party national chairman sprouted on his feet and made for the door.
He was excused out of the meeting and his fast movement evoked some suspicion among the prying eyes of reporters who now wanted to unveil the reason behind the mild drama.
But there was no INEC official to speak on the matter as the INEC meeting with the party leaders progressed. In less than 20 minutes, the ceremonial segment of the meeting ended and the reporters’ curiosity on the matter grew even more.
When this reporter put a call across to the National Chairman of the Labour party, he could not answer the call, forcing him to call the Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, who quickly retorted: “the chairman travelled”.
When he was told Abure was sighted at the meeting but hurriedly left, he called for patience on the part of the reporter for him to speak to Abure on the phone. Ifoh called back to say, “My National Chair was still meeting with the INEC chairman”.
This claim evoked more curiosity forcing this reporter to call the IPAC chairman, Dantalle, who was seen in a conversation with the Labour Party Chairman. Dantalle also said “Abure hurried out of the meeting because he was embarking on a foreign trip.”
It was later in the day that an INEC official revealed anonymously that the Labour Party National Chairman was quietly excused out of the meeting as he was not originally invited due to the internal crisis in the party.
He further said the commission panicked “because two factions of the party had attended the meeting and crisis might brewing as the two factions battle for recognition. That was why the security man politely excused him out”, the source disclosed.
Edozie Njoku attends first meeting
However while the crisis in Labour Party deprived the chairman from attending INEC’s meeting, the factional conflict in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) seemed to be receding.
Edozie Njoku has now been recognised by INEC after a protracted legal battle which even though reached the apex court of the land but the ‘printers devil’ which substituted his name after he won at the Supreme Court could not allow INEC give him the nod.
In INEC’s meeting with political parties, Njoku apparently radiated joy presumably that his over-dragged struggle was not in vain.
When interviewed after the meeting the APGA national chairman said, “we are focused on reconciliation.”
He also said he was working in concert with the governor of Anambra state Charles Soludo to ensure reconciliation was achieved within the party.
Meeting with CSOs
At the meeting with Civil Society Organisations, INEC underscored the need for accredited observer groups to comply with the objectives of election observation and the Code of Conduct contained in the Commission’s rules of engagement.
Prof Yakubu warned that the commission reserved the right to revoke the accreditation of any individual observer or observer group that violates code of conduct for election observation.
“At the same, I wish to remind you of your obligation as observers to comply with the objectives of election observation and the Code of Conduct contained in the Commission’s rules of engagement for accredited election observers.
“A concise summary is contained in the 22-page document entitled “Briefing for Observers” available on our website www.inecnigeria.org. I wish to reiterate that the Commission reserves the right to revoke the accreditation of any individual observer or observer group that violates Code of Conduct for election observation.
“As the Edo state governorship approaches, I wish to remind CSOs to submit the list of your observers by uploading the required information, including photographs, to the dedicated portal. As at yesterday, Monday 29th July 2024, 56 organisations have uploaded the details of 894 observers for the Edo state governorship election representing 33.6% of the expected 2,660 observers.
“The deadline is Wednesday 31stJuly 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at 6pm. I urge you to ensure that you meet the deadline so that the Commission can produce the accreditation tags and deliver them to you for distribution to your observers in good time.
“At the same time, the Commission is aware that some organisations have not only responded in good time, but have also requested for additional slots for observers to deploy across the two States. The Commission will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis depending on the organisation’s previous experience, size, capacity and record of compliance with the guidelines and code of conduct for election observation.
Media
At the meeting with the media on Wednesday, Yakubu challenged media organisations “to continue to be a bulwark against fake news, misinformation and disinformation.”
“As the Edo state governorship approaches, I wish to remind media organisations that the portal for media accreditation (https://imap.inecnigeria.org) is still open.
“As at 8.02am today, Wednesday 31st July 2024, 24 media organisations representing print, radio, television and online have uploaded the details of 227 personnel for the election” he said.
Prof Yakubu explained that the commission was concerned about the safety of media personnel and equipment just as they are about the security of their own officials, observers, service providers and, above all, the voters.
“We will also work with the security agencies to ensure that accredited journalists are granted unimpeded access to all voting and collation locations.
“I urge you to fully comply with the Nigerian media code of election coverage.
“Similarly, you are required to comply with the INEC guidelines for media accreditation available on our website www.inecnigeria.org. It is now 51 days to the Edo state governorship election coming up on Saturday 21st September 2024.
“Our preparations are going on in earnest. I am glad to report that we have recovered from the torrential rainfall that resulted in the severe flooding of our State Headquarters in Benin City two months ago.
