The obvious neutrality of the All Progressives Congress-controlled administration of President Bola Tinubu in the recent governorship election in Anambra State as manifested in the absence of the APC governors in the state on the election day, and the transparency of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the conduct of the election and collation of results accounted for the credibility and integrity of the exercise, Ejiofor Alike reports
When the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), declared that elections would be so credible under his watch that losers would congratulate winners, many Nigerians were skeptical as they thought that this promise would end up like INEC’s previous failed promises that had destroyed the confidence of Nigerians in the commission.
Answering questions during his confirmation by the Senate, Amupitan said: “Our ultimate goal is to make elections so credible that even the loser will be able to congratulate the winner in good faith just as a judge delivers judgment and both sides accept it as fair and just.”
Amupitan matched his words with actions and proved all doubting Thomases wrong with the commission’s fair, credible and transparent conduct of the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State.
The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Governor Charles Soludo, was declared the winner of the election.
Though the losers have yet to congratulate the winner, Amupitan did not fail in his promise as the noticeable malpractice in the election – vote-buying – was obviously not the fault of INEC.
The candidates and leaders of the various political parties cited vote-buying as the major irregularity.
Speaking after casting his vote, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, told journalists that he had received reports that some political parties were paying between N20,000 and N30,000 for each vote.
Also, speaking on the widespread vote-buying, Governor Soludo declared that he was sure of victory even if his opponents paid N100,000 for each vote.
Similarly, the candidate of the APC, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, had also raised the alarm over alleged widespread vote buying during the election.
Ukachukwu’s counterpart in the LP, George Moghalu, also lamented the reported cases of vote buying, warning that monetising the voting process encouraged political corruption.
It was obvious from these comments that the conduct of the election by INEC was satisfactory despite the refusal of the losers to congratulate the winner.
In the past, INEC started destroying the credibility of an election before the exercise by deploying partisan Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), to manipulate the process for the emergence of a pre-determined winner against the wishes of the helpless voters.
But in the case of Anambra election, Amupitan ensured that no controversial REC was deployed and this ensured that the processes leading to the election were generally adjudged fair and transparent.
The collations of results of some of the previous elections were shrouded in secrecy and controversies, with INEC officials and security agents conniving to manipulate the results.
While compromised INEC officials and security agents stayed behind at the commission’s offices overnight, doctoring the results, the agents of political parties were forcefully dispersed with teargas and asked to return in the following morning for collation of the doctored results.
Also unlike in the previous elections, over 90 per cent of the results of the Anambra election were already uploaded on INEC’s portal as early as 8pm, for accessibility by the political parties.
The commission also worked overnight, collating the results instead of postponing the collation and conniving with security agents to disperse the agents of the parties to create a conducive environment for the manipulation of the results.
It was not surprising that local and international observers as well as civil society organisations poured praises on INEC for its logistical coordination and effective deployment of technology under Amupitan’s leadership.
A coalition under the EU Support for Democratic Governance Programme (EU-SDGN) II, confirmed that the election was better organised than previous polls.
The Election Observation Hub (EOH), a coalition of civil society organisations, including Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHer, and TAF Africa, which collectively deployed 711 observers, commended improvements in different aspects of the election management, including logistics, security management, and technology deployment.
An accredited international observer group, International Association of World Peace Advocates, represented by Ambassador Emmanuel Nkweke, commended INEC’s preparedness and professionalism, noting that voting materials, BVAS deployment, and the presence of security agencies were “exceptionally well-coordinated.”
On her part, the Director of Programmes at Yiaga Africa, Ms. Cynthia Mbamalu, applauded the commission for the early arrival of materials and personnel, describing the early deployment as a “positive sign of transparent elections.”
She added that Yiaga Africa prioritised the early start of polling as a key benchmark of credibility.
Observers linked the smooth conduct of the election to INEC’s extensive pre-election preparations.
Quoting reports from INEC Situation Room, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the INEC Chairman, Mr Dayo Oketola, also cited the efficient logistical coordination by the commission under Amupitan’s leadership.
However, while giving credit to Amupitan and his team, it should also be noted that the neutrality of the APC-controlled federal government and President Bola Tinubu made the job of INEC boss easier as undue pressure was not mounted on the commission by governors.
In the previous elections, some governors flooded other states on the days the commission conducted off-season governorship elections in those states and mounted pressure on INEC officials and security agents to truncate the will of the people.
In his address after being declared the winner, Soludo had expressed appreciation to Tinubu, describing him as a “true democrat” who demonstrated commitment to ensuring a free and fair election in the state.
He also lauded Amupitan, declaring that “this is the best election INEC has organised in Anambra so far.”
Soludo commended the commission’s ICT department for ensuring transparency through the real-time upload of results on the IReV portal.
Again, after receiving his Certificate of Return, Soludo hailed Tinubu for providing a level-playing field.
He said: “There is hope for Nigeria. I praise President Bola Tinubu for allowing a free and fair electoral process in Anambra.”
The governor also hailed the electoral body for conducting a free, fair and credible election.
“The state made history as the first state where the new INEC chairman had his first litmus test and came out successfully,” he added.
On its part, Lagos State Chapter of the APC also commended Tinubu for defending Nigeria’s democracy by maintaining neutrality in the election.
The party, in a statement by its Spokesman, Mr Seye Oladejo, stated that “the President has once again shown that he remains the most credible defender of Nigeria’s democracy by encouraging transparency and refusing to interfere in the electoral process.”
The question agitating the minds of Nigerians is: Will President Tinubu maintain the same neutrality in the upcoming elections in Ekiti and Osun states as well as other future elections?
