NLC asks Buhari to call INEC to order over shoddy conduct of polls

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Sunday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to order over the poor conduct of Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections.

The NLC, in a statement signed by its president – Joe Ajaero, titled “Is INEC Subverting Nigeria?, said reports at the congress’ disposal indicated that INEC did a shoddy job despite the huge funds allocated to it for the exercise.

“The bloodletting, harassment, ballot box snatching and wilful destruction of election materials, especially in Lagos and Rivers states even in the presence of members of the security agencies and INEC officials cannot be interpreted any other way except that of collusion. It calls for urgent investigation and action to reassure the people of their safety as the election runs its course.

“Using of thugs in Rivers and Lagos to mete out violence and intimidate voters in these states run counter to the tenets and practice of democracy.

The case of the now dishonourable member of the federal house of representatives from Rivers State captured on tape calling for the killing of certain people is not only abhorrent but is a recipe for further violence in our polity. The threats as captured of MC Oluomo of the Parks and Gardens in Lagos State warning certain voters to stay away from the polling centres across the state violates decency and negate the principle of democratic engagement.

The inability of INEC to prevent the recurrence in this election of the ills of past elections speaks volume of its ill-preparedness for this election as can be demonstrated in the late arrivals of critical election materials to the polling units and the almost deliberate tampering of the BVAS in many polling units, including the outright refusal of its operatives to upload results from the BVAS to the INEC Servers in total violation of the rule of the election and INEC’s own election guidelines.

“We are also alarmed by the alleged activities of the Lagos State Resident Election Commissioner (REC) who may never have hidden his inclinations and dispositions to compromise this election in Lagos State before now and who from information received may currently be presiding over the cooking of election results contrary to the choice of voters at the various polling units across the state.

“If this allegation is true, that may explain why polling unit officers were reluctant to transmit the BVAS reports for the presidential elections to the official INEC Servers.

This is completely unacceptable and we want INEC to ensure that any cooked result from any REC is not only rejected but the offenders are made to face the full weight of the law.

“INEC must understand that not uploading the results to its Server expeditiously as expected creates an avoidable crisis of confidence and imperils the entire process. We continue to express our deep concerns over the apparent manipulation of results in Lagos and Rivers states and demand that the real results as captured by the BVAS be uploaded without fail.

“We feel embarrassed about the explanation of INEC that materials arrived late in some areas because of the distance between the localities and the storage centres. We know that polling units.

“It is on this note that we call on the President of the Federal Republic, His Excellency Muhammed Buhari to rise to the occasion and call the electoral umpire (INEC) to order. The president ought to seize the redemptive power in this situation and demand that INEC returns to the rule book for election conduct. It is only by doing this that he will reassure Nigerians of his innocence in this unfolding drama”, the NLC said.