Barely four months and six months to the Edo and Ondo States off-cycle gubernatorial elections respectively, the Independent National Electoral Commission has called on politicians and political parties to resist the menace of power of incumbency that has removed the supremacy of free, fair, credible and transparent elections in the country’s democracy both in party primaries and general election.
Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who made this call during one of the commission’s quarterly consultative meetings with critical stakeholders said, while citing sections 91 to 97 of the Electoral Act, that power of incumbency which those in power employ to thwart every electoral processes, be it party primaries or general election has no place in the electoral law and therefore, remains illegal.
Yakubu said rather than lamenting or blaming the commission at the end of such elections, the victims should take legal actions by challenging such acts in Courts.
He regretted that the politicians and their political parties would rather prefer to heap all the blame of their woes on INEC even when the commission, for instance, in the party primaries is only there to monitor and not to conduct.
In order to realise this, Yakubu asked security agencies to prevent violent attacks in the forthcoming off-cycle governorship polls.
Recall that both primaries in Edo and Ondo trumped up bad blood in mainly the ruling parties as a result of wielding the power of incumbency, an act that led to litigation and crisis in the political parties.
In Edo, the “power of incumbency” was utilized by Governor Godwin Obaseki to pull off the rugs from the feet of his Deputy, Philip Shaibu whose ambition was to succeed him. Edo State is governed by the People’s Democratic Party.
Obaseki employed all that was available in his office as the sitting governor to derail Shaibu’s ambition and was even alleged to have blocked every effort by some leaders of the party to hold a free, fair, credible and transparent primaries to elect the PDP standard bearer. Also, efforts by Shaibu to stop his principal failed because of the dreaded power of incumbency.
The Ondo State matter is even more volatile to handle.
A serving Senator, Jimoh Ibrahim did not only reject what he termed “laughable exercise” by claiming there were no primaries in any Ward or local government, he proceeded to court to stop his party, All Progressives Congress, which is the ruling party in the state from parading the incumbent, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the candidate that emerged from the primaries. His resilience has led to his suspension by the party.
Reacting to the call by the INEC Boss, a political commentator and lawyer, Bethel Obinnaya said kudos should be given to the chairman for boldly bringing to the fore a major cancer that has derailed Nigeria’s democracy.
“I must commend Professor Mahmood Yakubu for not only identifying a major cancer that has eaten deep in our democracy but also exposed it and wants it ended. We all know the evil of the so-called power of incumbency in the conduct of elections at all levels in Nigeria. Whether it is a party’s primary election or general election, those in office employ whatever power in their control to decide how and where victory goes.
“Be it at the presidential, governorship, local government chairmanship, name it, the incumbent calls the shots. This has been the reason why our democracy has remained nascent after 25 years of practice. From onset when former President Obasanjo was in power, he utilised the power of incumbency to the extent that he gave Nigerians late President Umaru Yar’Adua, former President Muhammadu Buhari was not willing to go for a second term knowing that Nigerians were disgusted with his first four years but behold, his power of incumbency came to bear.
“The governorship is a no go area. Apart from winning their elections before votes are cast, they single handedly enthrone local government chairmen. And when these happen, we blame INEC. I’m not totally exonerating INEC but look at what happens in party primaries that are not conducted by INEC.”
Obinnaya insists that the politicians have destroyed the fabric of our democracy using the services of the judiciary where they get the kind of judgments they want thereby negating the popular claim that the court is the last hope of the common man because it should be seen to serve justice without fear or favour.
“Since 2003, after the first four years of former President Obasanjo, there has never been any democratic election. It was even better when the military conducted elections for us. The election that produced Obasanjo in 1999 has remained the best from that time till date. Some people will say, the 2015 polls were better but you and I know it’s not. The only difference was that former President Goodluck Jonathan refused to pull the trigger using the power of incumbency because of his human nature. You can count the number of states incumbent governors lost elections even when the people have rejected them. So, if the politicians can resist the power of incumbency, which of course is not possible, our democracy will grow tremendously because it will lead to our votes counting.
“I said it is not possible to happen because, power of incumbency is akin to the monstrous godfather. The politician who is lamenting today will be worse when he gets in there tomorrow. Imagine what happened in Kenya and recently in Senegal. Could this happen in our country? I can say no and I am very right because we don’t have institutions to make it happen,” he lamented.
Though Barrister Silva Emeka had a different view on the call to resist power of incumbency in the forthcoming Edo and Ondo States gubernatorial elections, he believed such a step could grow our democracy.
The lawyer and social commentator expressed worries that the sudden call could be a ploy to not only checkmate the PDP in Edo State but to also box them into a very tight corner with the assistance of the security agencies that might be working for the federal might.
“It’s a very good call and timely too but that would be if there’s genuineness to the call. I hope it’s not a plot to subdue Governor Obaseki and PDP control of the state. Somebody may argue that Ondo State is included in the call, yes, but we know how it works in our country. I’m afraid the presidency might be very much interested in the Edo State election. When you remember the nature of the campaign four years ago where our now President Bola Tinubu took paid adverts in televisions asking Edo people to reject Obaseki and Edo people’s reply that Edo is not Lagos, you would understand my worries. Only if there is no hidden agenda, the call if acted upon by the politicians and receives justice and fairness in the judiciary will turn around our political history.
“Let me say this, the security agencies must not fail to realise that their services in the Edo election, like all other elections, are restricted. They should not go there and take over the conduct of the election from INEC. There are definitions of the areas they are permitted by law to access and the areas they are restrained by law from accessing.
“They must strictly adhere to the laws even when they are securing the process. But I support every lawful step taken to stamp out the power of incumbency from our politics. And it’s clear that power of incumbency is not only exercised by the governor, the opposition party in the state that is ruling party at the federal level does the worst by using federal might since the control of the military and other security agencies is the exclusive right and power of the federal government. We have seen it played out. We watch how it goes.”
While the agitation against the power of incumbency rages the ruling PDP has reassured its readiness for the September 21 polls.
In a chat with the National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, the party’s top notch said PDP is not only ready for the election but also well prepared to retain the Dennis Osadebey house in Benin City.
“We are very ready for the Edo State governorship election. We are not only ready; we are prepared to retain the state. Edo State has been a PDP state since the return of democratic rule in 199 though APC had a stint due to some misunderstanding in the PDP then. However, we have no such issues now in our party so, when I said we are ready and prepared for the election, I am not mincing words.
“Our campaigns have been on and feedback we are getting are encouraging and reassuring. PDP governors and states have always delivered the dividends of democracy that is why the people want PDP to govern their states. Edo people are very wonderful people who do not sell their votes for any price. They believe in giving their mandate to the right person and they have assured us (PDP) that our candidate is the right choice.”
“The governorship is a no go area. Apart from winning their elections before votes are cast, they single handedly enthrone local government chairmen. And when these happen, we blame INEC. I’m not totally exonerating INEC but look at what happens in party primaries that are not conducted by INEC”
A chieftain of a political party who is based in Benin who pleaded anonymity told The Point that the call by the INEC Chairman sounds like the cry of a wolf in his ears.
The party bigwig argued that what the INEC Chairman did was to create an alibi to create a veritable ground for rigging the election with military intimidation.
“Leave all these things the INEC Chairman is saying. In fact this is a pointer that the APC and INEC may have concluded plans to use the security agencies to intimidate other political parties particularly the ruling PDP and Labour Party. Imagine INEC talking about power of incumbency and its ills. Was Yakubu not the one that conducted the Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi States off-cycle governorship elections? So, there was no display of power of incumbency in those elections and what were INEC’s reactions.
“A sitting governor won 27 out of 27 local governments, the oppositions didn’t win a single local government. The governorship election in that state was like the conduct of local government chairmanship elections yet it was conducted by INEC and this same Chairman. The only good thing about the Chairman’s call is that it has created awareness to the PDP and other political parties what APC and INEC are planning, that’s my take,” he said.
But when reminded that the call was not for politicians and political parties for the Edo State governorship election alone, that Ondo State which is governed by APC is part of the call for the security agencies to gird their loins and ensure that power of incumbency does not truncate the processes, he said, “that is what made it more suspicious. If you know the game, you will understand what I am saying. So you believe that the APC government at both the state and Federal Government levels will for any reason want to lose Ondo state? It’s a game that can only deceive rookies. Which of the two comes first? I think that settles my argument.”
The lamentation against the use of power of incumbency by political parties to uphold the people’s mandate has been an integral part of our elections. No political party is spared. There have always been tales of woes after every election. The ills associated with the exercise of power of incumbency have denied the people good governance as their preferred candidates don’t emerge from the polls.
