In the build up to the 2023 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari did not hide his desire to bequeath a legacy of free, fair and credible polls.
His good intention was accentuated by his assent to the 2022 Electoral Bill and approval of over N300 billion to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by the National Assembly for the conduct of the exercise.
Being the country’s largest budgetary allocation for elections since 1999, its utilisation for the purchase of electronic devices, logistics, mobilisation and deployment of material and human resources to polling units nationwide, was expected to be worth the vote.
As the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said “Buhari had given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) all that it needed to deliver free, fair, credible polls on February 25, 2023, and if there were glitches and shortcomings, it had nothing to do with the President.”
Despite initial controversies over the introduction of the Bimodal voter Accreditation System, BVAS, and the INEC Results Viewing Portal, IReV, into the Electoral Act to accredit voters and transmit election results, real-time, from the over 176,000 polling units directly to the INEC server, Nigerians on both sides came to the conclusion that whatever will enhance the credibility of the electoral process is worth a trial.
Buhari had earlier in October 2020 reappointed Prof Mahmood Yakubu as INEC Chairman, for a second term in office, to consolidate on his experience and conduct credible polls, after the controversies that dogged the 2019 general election.
Following his retention, Yakubu faced a tough battle along with his INEC team, convincing Nigeria’s lawmakers about the BVAS and IReV.
With INEC’s repeated assurance of the efficacy of electronic transmission of results through IReV, Nigerians were no longer in doubt that what could be a game changer in the electoral process was here. But far from it, the hopes raised by the electoral umpire came crashing on February 26, 2023 when INEC could not upload up to 40 per cent of results before commencement of collation of votes.
That Nigeria’s electoral system is fraught with imperfections, and mired in a history of controversial and disputed outcomes, is no news. It dates back to the years of Abel Gubadia, Maurice Ewu, Attahiru Jega and the 2019 elections conducted by the current INEC chairman.
What is however unacceptably new is INEC’s barefaced reneging from its constant promises and flagrant breach of its own rules and, perhaps, electoral laws.
INEC itself has admitted that the 2023 presidential election had challenges, which it would strive to correct. The commission promised more than it delivered, sunk its public trust deep in doubt, and placed its moral integrity in question. As we ponder the irregularities observed in the just-concluded elections, we lament the gradual decline of morality in our public institutions and the enthronement of ruthlessness.
INEC has now become more concerned about concluding a defective process than fixing the defects evident in the process. When you dare to question its guts to uphold anomalies, you are told off to “seek redress in court.” Such an impetuous and reckless recline to abuse of powers is what destroys a society no matter how good.
INEC, under Prof Yakubu has one more chance to prove itself as an unbiased umpire in the March 18, 2023 governorship and state assembly elections. Everything is at stake for the INEC chairman to defend his integrity. No one, except beneficiaries of a flawed system will take him seriously if he fails to uphold the rules and legal instruments governing the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
While we applaud the commission’s effort at conducting elections to deepen the country’s democracy, it must understand that electoral processes are as important as their outcomes. It must therefore purge itself from activities that paint a picture of unwholesomeness to Nigerians and the rest of the world.
Furthermore, though the current administration boasts of achievements in road infrastructure, most of what the presidency has left in the consciousness of ordinary Nigerians is suffering, polarisation of the country, insecurity and highhandedness. For most Nigerians, if the electoral system under its watch fails, it would be remembered for the wrong reasons.
