• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Concerns as Nigeria wobbles into 2019 elections

businessday-icon

Nigeria is wobbling into 2019 elections as the country still struggles to find funds urgently needed for the process as well as conclude the amendment of an ambitious electoral law which had raised hope for free, fair, hitch-free and credible elections. This comes as general elections are just three months away.
According to the guideline and schedule of activities for the elections released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Presidential and National Assembly Elections would hold on February 16, while the governorship and state assembly polls hold on March 2, 2019. But analysts have expressed worry that despite a four year window to prepare for the forthcoming elections, Nigeria is still battling with getting an election budget and Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill at the eleventh hour.
Last Wednesday, the National Assembly passed the N242 billion 2019 elections budget, amid uncertainty around the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill.
Although the budget was earlier passed last month, both legislative chambers of the National Assembly rescinded their earlier approval due to sole source of funding the exercise. Some of the activities in the budget have already been concluded, but there are concerns that the late signing of the budget into law would negatively affect procurement of sensitive election materials.

READ ALSO: Non-passage of amendments to Electoral Act, logistics, funding issues stalled 2019 election, says INEC report

These include Notice of Election, conduct of party primaries, submission of Forms CF001 and CF002 at INEC Headquarters, publication of personal particulars of candidates among others. INEC National Commissioner, Adedeji Soyebi, had earlier informed BusinessDay that due to the delay in approving the budget, the Commission was able to monitor the conduct of the just concluded party primaries by obtaining credit facilities to pay its staff as honorarium.
In an interview with BusinessDay, an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Kayode Ajulo, blamed both the Executive and the Legislature for the delay in the passing the budget. “Election is constitutional. Every four years we must have a General Election. I wonder why the Executive presented the budget late when they have four years to the General Election. “In 2015, we knew that there would be an election in 2019. It is like a man whose wife is pregnant. And the man complaining after the wife put to bed that he wasn’t prepared.”
Also speaking, the Convener of Election Monitor, Abiodun Ajijola, said late approval of the budget would have grave implications for the forthcoming general elections. Ajijola added: “It should be noted at this point that Nigeria is in a critical moment when something has to be done urgently. It appears that the politicians are not putting Nigeria first and clearly some people are working hard to frustrate the effective conduct of elections in Nigeria in 2019.”

Another major concern is that if President Muhammadu Buhari signs the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill into law, Nigeria stands the risk of violating Article 2 (1) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol, which stipulates that no member country should amend its Electoral Act, six months to an election. Key provisions of the proposal is the legislation of electronic voter accreditation system, limit of election campaign expenses by candidates, stiffer sanctions to INEC officials, among others. Coincidentally, President Buhari is currently the Chairman of the sub-regional bloc. Also commenting on the delayed electoral amendment law, Kayode Ajulo Ajulo said rather than violate ECOWAS Protocol, the 2010 Electoral Act should be used to conduct the forthcoming polls. He argued that doing otherwise would be tantamount to changing the goalpost in the middle of a football game. However, political observers say if the bill is not signed into law, it would dash the hopes of legalizing the use of smart card reader in the 2019 election and a return to manual accreditation of voters. This has been subject of abuse and manipulation.

 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja