Inconclusive INEC And Inconclusive Democracy (Part 1) By Mike Ozekhome SAN

INTRODUCTION

Once again, kindly permit me this week to step down my series on
“Accord Concordiale: the continuous search for Nigeria’s
elusive unity”. This is to enable me treat more urgent
national issues as regards the last heavily manipulated and rigged
elections. First, was the presidential elections where INEC with a
simple kneel jerk postponed the elections less than 5 hours to
same.

Many Nigerians who had travelled to their places of registration
were thereby denied their right to exercise their franchise as they
could not travel back the second time, having returned to their
bases upon the cancellation. I believe this was a deliberate ploy
and strategy by ruling party APC in cahoot with INEC to dampen the
energy and spirit of most Nigerians who were desirous of voting
them out. The “logistics” excuse given by INEC is
not one of the grounds recognized by Section 26 of the
Electoral Act for postponement of elections. The section
envisages likely serious breach of the peace, or the result of
natural disasters or other emergencies. Logistical challenges was
not one of them. There was brazen militarization, thuggerisation
and bastardisation of the electoral process to prevent Atiku
Abubakar from winning.

When president Buhari declared that ballot snatching will
attract execution, I immediately condemned the statement as giving
a licence to the military to take over the electoral process, maim
and kill. I was proven right when the Chief of Army Staff came out
smoking and declared, “ if Commander-In-Chief has given
order to the Nigerian Army to that effect, be rest assured that
order will be totally and effectively obeyed without any ifs or
buts”.

I had argued then that sections 129 (4) and 131 of the
Electoral Act, respectively prescribe 24 months
imprisonment and # 1 million or 3 years imprisonment for ballot box
snatching or violence by any person. No death sentence was imposed
by the Act.

Thus, while the Nigerian electorate was preparing for elections,
the ruling party was preparing for a military operation. Video
footages across Nigeria showed Soldiers turning Nigeria into a war,
zone, overruling homes, citizens, kitchens and bedrooms, with
courageous men, women and youth chanting, protesting against
military occupation of voting and collation sites. Some INEC
officials confessed openly how they were besieged by the Police and
Army seized electoral materials, snatched ballot boxes, etc. The
force and coersion were so palpable in Rivers state, a state in
which APC did not even have a candidate based on Supreme Court’s
judgment. based on Supreme Court’s judgment. Guess what was
president Buhari’s reply to this judgment of the final court of the
land: “however, as we remain resolute in our effort to win
the 2019 general election, I assure you that justice will be
done”; despite the ruling of the Supreme Court would
ensure that the Rivers state chapter of the APC gets justice
despite the ruling of the Supreme Court.

Was militarization and seize on Rivers to abort an election
already conclusively declared at polling units, wards and LGA’s the
“justice” PMB talked about?

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had
declared the March 9 governorship and State House of Assembly
elections inconclusive in at least seven states. These states are
Plateau, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Sokoto, Kano and Rivers
states.

In a bid to justify their unpopular decisions to abort the will
of the people who exercised their freewill by voting candidates of
their choice, the respective returning officers have given various
reasons for declaring the elections inconclusive.

 “INCONCLUSIVENESS”: A NEW POLITICAL
WORD

The word “inconclusive” has today become the
hottest word in our political lexicon. It has been invented by Prof
Mahmood Yakubu’s INEC.

Let us take a sampling of the states declared inconclusive;

In
Bauchi^[1], Prof.
Mohammed Kyari, the Returning Officer, said that apart from the
cancellation of the result from entire Tafawa Balewa Local
Government Area because of irregularities, the exercise in some
other polling units also suffered the same fate. In the said Bauchi
state, the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Senator Bala Mohammed, got
469,512 votes against his closest rival, the incumbent Governor
Mohammed Abubakar of the APC, who got 465,453 votes. 
According to the returning officer, the margin of lead between the
two candidates was 4,059 votes after cancelling the votes of Tafawa
Balewa LGA which had 139,240 accredited voters. He added that the
number of cancelled votes in the elections even without that of
Tafawa Balewa LGA was 45,312 and therefore declared the
governorship election in the state inconclusive.

In Sokoto state, where Tambuwal of the PDP was leading with a
slim margin of 3,413 votes, the election was declared inconclusive.
Aminu Tambuwal of PDP scored a total of 489,558 votes while his
opponent, Aliyu Ahmed of APC scored a total of 486,145 votes.
However, instead of declaring Tambuwal as the winner in the
election, INEC declared the election inconclusive, alleging that
75,403 votes were cancelled.

The Same
Verdict Was Passed In Benue State^[2]. The Benue
State Collation/Returning Officer, Prof. Sabastine Maimaiko, during
the collation and announcement of the results in Makurdi, the Benue
State capital, said the candidate of the PDP, sitting Governor
Samuel Ortom, polled 410,576, votes while his closest rival, the
APC candidate, Emmanuel Jime, scored 329,022 votes.

He stated that Ortom led Jime with 81,554 votes. He, however,
said that total number of registered voters/areas where elections
were not held or were cancelled and properly documented in Form
EC40G, was 121,019.He clarified that the margin of lead (81,554
votes) was less than 121, 019 registered voters/areas where
elections were not held or cancelled.

In Jos, the Plateau State capital, Professor Richard Kimbir
announced that the margin of a lead of 44,929 between the APC and
the PDP candidates is less than 49,377 cancelled votes. Simon
Lalong of APC polled a total of 583,255 votes, while Jerry Useni of
PDP scored 538,326.

NOW THIS

The elections in Kano have
also been curiously adjudged inconclusive.^[3] The
electoral body suspended the collation of the results, due to
alleged security challenges at the Nasarawa Local Government
collation centre. In Kano state, Abba Yusuf of PDP scored 1,014,474
votes, while Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC scored, 987, 819 votes.
The PDP candidate won with a margin of 26,655 votes, but the
election was declared inconclusive on the ground that there were
128,572 cancelled votes.

INEC also suspended all electoral processes in Rivers state
until further notice. In a statement, the Commission explained that
they took the decision, due to widespread violence in the state
during the March 9 governorship and State Assembly polls. The
Commission also claimed some of its staff were held hostage and
materials including results sheets were destroyed.

AND THIS INEC IS ACTING A
SCRIPT

It is clear to me that INEC is carefully acting a script already
written. Mrs Zakari never recused herself from the sensitive ICC
collation centre inspte of the cries of most Nigerians. She is
related to PBM whether by consanguinity or by marriage
interplay.

It is quite appalling that for the first time since 1999 that
the nation embraced democracy, INEC declared governorship poll in
seven states inconclusive. Can INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu,
attest before the almighty God, holding the Holy Quran, that he is
not playing the script of the ruling All Progressives Congress by
declaring governorship elections in these states inconclusive?

Quite worrisome is the fact that INEC carried out the action
mostly in states where the PDP was in clear lead. The unexplainable
stoppage and delays in the announcement of already collated results
in states where the PDP was also clearly leading portends a danger
to our already weakened democracy (To be continued next
week).

LAST LINE

Hope The President and Nigerians are reading, digesting and
awaiting the next explosive discourse of Sunday Sermon on the Mount
of the Nigerian Project by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, OFR, FCIArb.,
LL.D.