2023 election: INEC did Nigerians promise, fail trick – lawyer

PHIL OKOSE, Onitsha

 

An Onitsha, Anambra State-based legal practitioner, Barr. Madukego F. Uzoigwe has expressed dissatisfaction with the manner Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conducted the 2023 general election stating that it was marred with irregularities despite the pledge by INEC to Nigerians that it would conduct free, fair and credible elections.

 

He traced the history of INEC to when the military initiated it in 1919 adding that since then there has been an improvement in its performance until just the recently concluded elections.

 

Reacting, he said that not only was the election flawed but there were reports of killings, ballot box snatching and non compliance with the electoral Act that results would be uploaded from polling units to the INEC server, for transparency.

 

“There was a high hope to Nigerians in 2023 elections, bearing in mind what electronics is all about, INEC tasted it and showed it to the public how it is going to work and favour, and advantage they have to be able to keep up with the promise of free, fair and credible elections.

 

“So many citizens are already frustrated, for over 10 or 16 years, some people didn’t vote because of deprivation of their rights, the mandate the constitution gives to the public, for the citizens who are qualified to exercise, to choose anybody who supposes to lead them in any political sphere. The people are always deprived or denied their right by the authority specified by the law to conduct elections. With the promise of BIVAS servers, Nigerian citizens have to move to the polls again.

 

“Unfortunately, there was a permutation that BIVAS failed or malfunctioned, that was the language they used. When  Nigerians asked does INEC have two different BIVAS for the two different elections they conducted in one day, one for National Assembly, one for the presidency?

 

“The question that has rosed from there is that the National Assembly elections were transmitted through the BIVAS while that of the presidency was not transmitted, apart from this, they told Nigerians it will be within an hour to 6 hours or last 24 hours within the time of the election. That the whole result will be out, it took INEC three days to resolve the issue of who is the President of Nigeria and while some places were not completed and announced,” he hinted.

 

He said that others were however completed but on announcing them, there were objections as the law provided that INEC should resolve issues before they go into announcement or declarations, but INEC ignored every objection and declared the results.

 

“They have a mandate, they also have to provide the public document, everything you did in serving the public is a public document as far as it concerns the government and the parastatals. The law provides that they must provide a public document for whoever has objections or who has been deprived of his right. They have to stop that, they insisted to be given a day, two days, or three, while that was ongoing, people started going to the polls, going back to the curse.

 

He lamented that as Presidential candidates who felt they won the election went to court to seek redress, INEC in its bias and promise-and-fail system, also went to court saying they are going to configure the BIVAS to get ready for Saturday elections.

 

“Nigerians felt there was more to it than meet the eyes. They certainly smelt a rat around the curtain and INEC insisted on configuring the BVAS and securing a court order to configure it, it is not a speculation, it is a question that the court has to taste.

 

“However, the real issues before the court with the provisions of the law, with the provisions of the Act and that of the INEC guidelines, is whether actually, promises the INEC made through the Act of the National Assembly, from the law available, both of them are the same thing. The enabling law has the same force as the Act of which, who becomes the President from the mandate, with the composition of voters’ cards and BIVAS, as far as the two of them are not of equal terms.

 

“If the law we have and the umpire are going to preside with the evidence before them, they are going to be confronted with the evidence before the public which happened within. There is certainly hope for the two parties, PDP and Labour,” he assured.

 

The legal practitioner agreed with the possibility of the incumbent  President trying to influence the court in favour of whosoever he likes, stating that one’s conscience and having God in mind, could make the Presiding judge deliver judgement as it should be.

 

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