Isaac Shobayo -Jos
The former Minister of Sport and Youth Development, Hon Solomon Dalung has stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dashed the hope of many Nigerians for credible elections and now faces a credibility problem.
Dalung said the conduct and outcome of the last Saturday elections fell short of the people’s expectations in view of the preparations and assurances by the Commission that necessary arrangements had been put in place to guide against any sharp practices and anything that might negate the smooth conduct of the exercise.
He told journalists in Jos that the Commission had earlier mobilized Nigerians to believe in the BVAS system and tested it in the governorship elections in Osun, Ekiti, and Anambra States, as well as in by-elections across the country.
According to him, it was proven to be successful in these places. It earned the confidence of Nigerians, adding that what turned out during the presidential and national assembly elections last Saturday appeared to negate the impression created.
His words:”the former Minister, who said INEC has further taken Nigerian democracy backward, tasked the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Yakubu Mahmood, to address various issues that bedeviled the presidential election before the governorship and state assembly elections.
“INEC must live up to its commitment to address this issue before the next election. Failure to do this will raise fundamental credibility questions about the entire process, rupturing the country’s stability. I think the chairman needs to come out and address the nation; he has squandered the confidence of Nigerians, and they no longer trust him. The survival of democracy is in the hands of the INEC chairman.”
Dalung debunked that the Commission resorted to annual counting because the server was hacked, adding that the speculation might have originated from INEC to cover up its failure.
“The speculation might have originated from INEC by trying to explain its failure—why were Ekiti and Osun election results not hacked.” This speculation is an attempt by INEC to explain the failure. It is unacceptable because “before you deploy any technology, you put in place measures to avert it being hacked.”
On the call for the resignation of the INEC chairman, the former minister declared: “Call for the resignation of Professor Mahmood now is a tacit way of asking for anarchy because you can’t ask a referee to quit in the middle of a match. He will have to conclude the assignment; at the end of the day, we can evaluate him and congratulate him with a sack if that is what he deserved”.
He implored those aggrieved from the election to avoid anything that might derail democracy and lead to a breakdown of law and order. Further, he charged them to channel their grievances through appropriate quarters.
The former minister tasked the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to be more patriotic than before and ready to work because of the plethora of problems he would inherit.
He said, “The president-elect is inheriting a country that needs somebody younger than his age.” The plethora of challenges in this country requires a president who will be at his desk 18 hours a day before he can get things right. He needs patriots both within and outside his party.
“As to the issue of national unity, he has to hit the ground running by building national consensus.” He has to earn the confidence of Nigeria because winning an election is different from earning the confidence of Nigerians in leadership. I can tell you that he doesn’t have the confidence of 70 percent of Nigerians, he needs to open up his hands beyond his immediate South West environment. He needs the assurance of other faiths to believe in him,” he said.
