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The National Association of Seadogs, Pyrates Confraternity, NAS/PC, has declared that the ‘capture’ of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the political class is putting democracy at risk in Nigeria.
The NAS Capoon, Mr Abiola Owoaje in a press statement titled: ‘Off-Season elections: Flawed polls endanger democracy’ which reviewed the conduct of the off-season elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states stated that the neutrality of INEC and the impartiality of the law enforcement agencies were called to question.
According to him, a series of electoral malfeasance reported by international and local observers indicated that the conduct of some electoral and security officers was disappointing.
Owoaje while commending INEC for its logistics deployment and swift response to the case of pre-filled results discovered in Kogi, noted that the partisanship of some electoral officials was obvious.
‘’ The credibility of the electoral process is eroded when those expected to act as umpires descend into the arena and compromise the electoral process as witnessed in the just concluded off-season governorship elections.
‘’The general assumption and hope that INEC and security agencies would use the off-season governorship elections to redeem their battered image in the aftermath of the badly conducted 2023 general elections has been dashed. Rather, it has further accentuated justifiable claims that elections in Nigeria are increasingly becoming commercialised. INEC’s obvious bias in elections was recently highlighted by the Court of Appeal in Abuja which decried its partisanship thereby neglecting its role as an unbiased umpire in an election,’’ he said.
Owoaje maintained that the appointments of cronies, loyalists, and party members as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) eroded the independence of INEC and affected the credibility of elections in Nigeria.
He noted that former President Muhammadu Buhari, during his tenure, appointed cronies as INEC officials, which regrettably has been sustained by the Tinubu administration.
Owoaje, who insisted that the recent appointment of some partisan RECs was in violation of the Constitution, condemned their confirmation by the Nigerian Senate without due diligence.
‘’ The implication of the ‘capture’ of INEC by politicians is grave for the health of Nigeria’s democracy. Aside from eroding the independence of the electoral body with overwhelming interference, it undermines the legitimacy of the outcome of elections with the electorate lacking confidence in the results and becoming gradually disenchanted with democracy. Elections can only be credible if voters are allowed to choose freely without any form of coercion and inducement.
“A situation where the political class exploits the abject poverty of the masses to buy votes and where undue pressure is mounted on the electoral umpires to subvert the will of the people is a bad advertisement for democracy. Tragically, this has been the hallmark of Nigeria’s elections,’’ he said.
Owoaje challenged President Tinubu to demonstrate his commitment to genuine democracy by withdrawing the appointments of partisan RECs.
He also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and INEC to follow through its partnership with the Nigerian Bar Association to commence the trial of electoral offenders to serve as deterrent.
Owoaje seized the opportunity to call on the National Assembly to speed up the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission to handle all cases of electoral offenders.
