- Nigerians say ‘we must be wary of good boys and their masters’
- We’re ready for free, fair elections – INEC
As the Independent National Electoral Commission prepares to meet, this week, with political parties and other major stakeholders over the controversies trailing the yet-to-be-signed Electoral Act Amendment Bill, Nigerians across the country have been expressing mixed reactions on the Memorandum of Understanding, which the Commission signed with the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers and the National Association of Road Transport Owners on the deployment of logistics support during the forthcoming general elections. A cross section of the population described the move as a “desperate” one.
INEC had, last Wednesday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NURTW and NARTO for the supply of over 100,000 vehicles to convey its personnel and materials from state offices to774 Local Government Areas, 8,809 electoral wards and 119,973 polling units across the country during the elections, which are due to start in just about two months from now.
This followed a similar MoU signed with the NURTW before the 2015 general elections. Another deal is expected to be signed with the leadership of the Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria.
Speaking in separate interviews with our correspondents, some Nigerians described the move as “desperate” even as they called for close monitoring of the deal in a situation where there might be no other choice for INEC, owing to the proximity of the elections, paucity of funds and the hurdles the Electoral Commission had to pass through before its budget could be passed.
Many of those who spoke to our correspondents said it was on record that the All Progressives Congress was in control of many of the groups and warned against a negative effect from those popularly called “good boys.”
“What do you expect INEC to do in the kind of a situation it has found itself,” a public affairs analyst, Wunmi Ishaq, asked our correspondent.
Ishaq, who spoke with our correspondent in Lagos, said, “We are living witnesses to what INEC officials were subjected to by the National Assembly before the election budget was passed. And it was drastically reduced. Now, with just two months to the elections, where do you think they will get money to purchase 100, 000 vehicles?”
“This, indeed, is a challenging time for Nigeria and INEC is not immune from the challenges. A situation like this really calls for a desperate move and nobody should blame INEC,” he maintained.
MoU WITH NURTW/NARTO CHALLENGING – EXPERT
Also, speaking with our correspondent in Lagos on Sunday, a public transportation and urban mobility expert, Mr. Seyi Osiyemi, said the arrangement between INEC, NURTW and NARTO would be challenging.
Osiyemi, who is the Head, Bus Operations at Transport Services Limited, said, “For 2019, we may not have a choice…but going forward, we need to be more careful and INEC has to convince the stakeholders. The fact that INEC can go as far as signing the MoU with the Transport Unions for provision of vehicles, explains how desperate the situation is.
“These Transport Unions are known to be ‘entrenched’ in the political landscape and their ability to remain ‘neutral’ in the electoral process will always be questioned.”
He, however, advised INEC leadership “to enter into a written agreement” that would prevent the NURTW leadership from negative partisan actions that could hinder free and fair elections.
“Apart from this, INEC should see how they can engage the NURTW at the grassroots effectively. They should not just deal with the leaders and leave the members at the grassroots to the mercy of their leaders. It is by doing this, that the national goal of a credible election in 2019 will be achieved,” he added.
APC HAS A HIDDEN AGENDA – PDP
On his part, the chairman, Zamfara State Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Nasiru Abubakar Milo, kicked against the idea of engaging the services of NURTW and NARTO for the distribution of election materials by INEC, saying the ruling All Progressives Congress had a hidden agenda.
Describing the plan as not only dicey but “seriously risky”, Nasiru, who spoke with our correspondent in Gusau, the state capital, maintained that the ruling APC was only trying to create an avenue of staying in power beyond 2019, adding “they are planning to rig the election through dubious way of involving the road transport workers who are known to be political thugs.”
While advising the Federal Government to stick to the old traditional way of using official vehicles in transporting election materials to avert possible repercussion, he said, “it is safer for the government to provide adequate logistics required by the INEC to conduct the forthcoming general elections than to commission the road transport workers for the exercise that will, at the end, lead to rancour and acrimony . ”
But the Director, Zamfara State Budget and Economic Planing, Alhaji Hamza Badarawa, noted that the idea to partner the NURTW and NARTO was a welcome development, saying “since the government cannot afford to buy vehicles for election activities due to cash crunch, it could still find other alternative.”
He maintained that there was nothing wrong in the arrangement since what is needed is to make sure that the election materials get to polling units on time and safe. He condemned those who have seen the the arrangement as a plan to rig elections.
According to him, it does not matter “whether the election materials are to be transported by the NURTW or official vehicles, what matters is the security personnel who would be attached to each vehicle. So there’s nothing wrong with the arrangement ,” he said.
NIGERIANS COMPLAIN ABOUT EVERYTHING – SONG
Speaking in the same vein, a former National Chairman, Alliance for Democracy, Adamu Song, said, “I have no doubt about INEC’s ability to deliver in 2019. They are up to the task and I believe they are putting all things together to record success. It is their business and they know how to handle it.”
Song told The Point that there was no big deal about the deal between INEC and the transport unions, saying “this is not just happening.”
“INEC knows how to manage them. The problem about Nigerians is that they complain about everything. They just want to talk. Why didn’t they give INEC space to do their job? For me, INEC is fit for the assignment ahead of them,” he said.
Nigerians should learn to trust INEC – EX-APC CHIEFTAIN
For the immediate past Zonal Organising Secretary of South-South APC, Mr Paul Obi, who has just been wooed to the PDP, “Nigerians should be positive about the ability of INEC to deliver its mandate of conducting credible elections. I see everything possible.”
While maintaining that INEC staff were not Buhari’s appointees, Obi explained that “most of them have worked in INEC long before Buhari became President.”
“I believe INEC is ready,” he added, saying “PDP my party and Nigerians must learn to trust INEC. It will build a consciousness in them that Nigerians have put fate in their hands and they will do the right thing according to the laws of operations.”
On the collaboration between INEC and the NURTW, Obi said, “I think its okay. I am not doubting them. If that will make them work well. NURTW is an election support group of APC; the members belong to different parties. We should learn to trust INEC and put a burden on their conscience to do the right thing.”
WE’RE NOT AFRAID – INEC
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, could not react to the fears when filing this report as he told our correspondent that he wouldn’t be able to speak as he was driving along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
However, the INEC Director of Voters Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze- Uzzi, told our correspondent that there was nothing to worry about.
“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘people are saying the arrangements with NURTW will not work.’ Who are those saying it may not work? Okay, the arrangement will work and we have no fear concerning that,” Osaze-Uzzi told our correspondent on Sunday.
