Be more assertive in review of election results, analyst advises INEC

A Public Affairs Analyst, Mr Jide Ojo, has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be more assertive in exercising its administrative power to review election results.

Ojo said this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday.

He said that Section 65 of the Electoral Act empowered INEC to review election result within seven days where evidence of malpractices had been established.

He said that the commission exercised its power in the case of Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency election, when the returning officer said that he declared the result under duress.

“In the case of Imo and Kogi governorship election there contentious issues where the opposition claimed to have written to INEC asking for the review of those results.

“INEC should have used that administrative power, set up a committee to look at the uploaded results vis-à-vis the one in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and be able to make some consequential adjustment.

“I’d expected that INEC will continue to use that power and let the courts rule them out of order,’’ Ojo said.

He also called for deliberate effort by INEC to prosecute and sanction electoral offenders, including its permanent and ad hoc who tried to bypass the use of BVAS during election.

“Those who are engaged in pre-fill of election result sheet should be arrested, investigated and prosecuted. When they know that INEC will not take nonsense, they will shape up. Even when politicians try to induce them, they will refuse the inducement.

“ But in situations where you allow it to slide, as we have seen in the case of Kogi in 2023, it will be a bad omen because the similar things may be replicated in Ondo and in Edo in 2024,” he said.

Ojo also called on security agencies to be sensitive to their responsibility to provide needed protection for electoral officers and people on election duty to end the trend where political class coerced them to act in their favour.

He also called for better incentive for INEC staff for them to perform creditably. He said that INEC with about 15,000 workforces should be well motivated to help them resist heavy inducement from politicians.

Ojo also appealed to INEC staff and Nigerians recruited for ad hoc job not to see the opportunity given to them to serve as an avenue to cash out or acquire ill-gotten wealth.

“Whatever position we are assigned responsibility let’s do the right thing. Let’s not use our office to do wrong to amass ill gotten wealth.

“I am appealing to the conscience of whether permanent or ad hoc staff of INEC to be true to their conscience, to have a pure heart at what they do so that they can help deliver on credible elections,’’ he said.

Ojo also appealed to the judiciary to rise up to their responsibility in promoting credible elections in the country.

He also called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council to review some of the recent judgments on which petitions were sent to them and ensure that culpable actions were punished.