The postponement of last Saturday’s Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly to February 23 and the gubernatorial and the state House of Assembly election to March 9 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has continued to generate ripples and condemnation among Nigerians.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, speaking at a press briefing at the commission headquarters, on Saturday morning, said the commission was facing several challenges which had made the postponement necessary.
Mohmood said the delay was necessary to give the commission time to address vital issues, which could affect its ability to conduct free and fair elections.
“Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan, and the determination to conduct free, fair, and credible elections, the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible.”
The news of the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly election, however, came as a shock to millions of eligible voters that were eager to exercise their civic duty.
However, the postponement to the date of general elections has, again, brought to the fore the clamour for the unbundling of INEC.
The commission, according to the Nigeria constitution, is saddled with the task of: conducting elections, carrying out voter’s registration, preparing logistics for the elections, registration of political parties, among other functions.
There is also an on-going debate from some sections of Nigerians that the commission should equally be in charge of trial of election offenders.
However, analysts believe that two different agencies should be created from INEC present set-up— one agency should be in charge of handling logistics for elections, while the other should be in charge of punishing election offenders.
The commission should only be saddled with the task of registration of political parties, voters and conducting of elections across the country.
It is apparent that Nigeria’s large geography size is a burden to the commission’s ability to deliver on its task as it is often overstretched during general elections.
An example was the recent gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun states where the commission was adjudged to have performed creditably well in the distribution of election material and other logistics. This was, however, because the elections were held in single states at a time.
It’s apparent that INEC, as presently constituted is overburdened, ill-equipped and lacks the required manpower to effectively deliver on its mandate without hiccups.
This is not the first time general elections are postponed in Nigeria. However, the postponement perhaps calls for an appraisal of the commission’s duties and leadership.
In 2011, INEC cited logistics reasons for the shift in the general elections date. The commission had said that vital election material had not been supplied days to the general elections.
Also in 2015, INEC under the leadership of Atahirru Jega, election was postponed Nigeria’s general elections for six weeks for security fears.
Perhaps it has become imperative for a review of the setup of the commission and its mandate if the nation is to avoid a repeat of this national embarrassment in the future.
Political analyst and lawyer, Ayo Kusamotu questions the competence of the leadership of the commission, stressing that there is the urgent need for a reform of the commission to deliver on its mandate.
“Obviously, INEC needs reforms. The present set-up gives rooms for inefficiency. Changes have to be made. The level of incompetence is high.”
“The amount of money they are spending for the general elections is unjustifiable. This is money that could be used to build schools and hospitals. So, what are they doing with it? And we heard they are printing election materials outside Nigeria.”
David Bayeisha, Senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), admits that the commission could perform better, but calls for caution, not to give room for easy manipulation of the electoral system.
“INEC has not performed in view of the recent event, but I don’t really think unbundling is the solution. We need to be careful not to take actions that would complicate the system and encourage more fraud in elections.”
Iniobong Iwok
