Chieftains of major political parties have reacted to the pledge by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu to transmit electronically, results of off-season governorship elections to be conducted next month in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo.
Speaking in Lokoja, Kogi state capital while assessing the mock accreditation of voters ahead of the election, using the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System ( BVAS) and the INEC Voters Viewing Portal (IReV), Professor Yakubu assured that the results would be transmitted electronically in compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
He said: “The method is as provided by law, electronic accreditation, electronic upload of results on the IREV portal and that is why we are doing this mock. So, please disregard whatever was reported about what the REC was said to have said in Bayelsa. That’s going to be the procedure and it’s for that reason that I will advise you also for those who are registered on the IREV portal, that in the next two hours or so, they should go to the IREV portal you will see the result of the mock from all the three states, we are uploading, as we have done in previous elections.”
Checks revealed that Professor Yakubu’s remarks were a direct response to the declaration by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Bayelsa state, State, Mr Obo Effanga, who had earlier declared that results of the off-season Bayelsa state governorship elections would be collated manually.
Further checks by Nigerian Tribune revealed that while ruling last September on the petition filed by the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal affirmed the INEC’s discretion to determine the mode of election result transmission.
The five-member panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, referred to Sections 52 and 65 of the Electoral Act 2022, which granted INEC the freedom to prescribe the method of transmitting election results during the poll.
It further dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, which sought to annul the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress based on the alleged “failure” of INEC’s Results Viewing Portal to electronically upload election results in real-time.
Reacting to the pledge of INEC Chairman that results of the off-season elections would be transmitted electronically, spokesperson of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh in a telephone interview with Nigerian Tribune said his party would take INEC assurance with a pinch of salts.
While he said the Commission has the capacity to transmit election results electronically, the Labour Party said Nigerians are still traumatised by the manner INEC handled results of the last presidential elections when it said the IReV suffered technical glitches.
He said: “We are still traumatised by the recent February 25 Presidential election and the role INEC played.
“No doubt, INEC has the competence to conduct free and fair elections; that isn’t in doubt if it chooses to. The recent experience we had during the presidential elections has put us in doubt, whether this present INEC as constituted can be impartial.”
The LP further alleged move by the All Progressives Congress in connivance with certain staff of INEC to compromise the IReV, particularly in Imo.
“Already in Imo state, we have clear evidence of a huge plot by some individuals within the INEC to compromise the election. We have also written petitions and we have also protested against a few individuals within INEC in Imo state, who have been positioned to do the bidding of the governor of the State.
“One of them is a blood and younger sister of the present Deputy National Chairman of the APC, who has been transferred to Imo state to do the bidding of the APC Government. We have also several other different staff, including people in the IT section who are being entrusted with the IReV who we have noted to be partisan.
“So, with the presence of these people in INEC, we aren’t expecting free and fair elections, particularly as it pertains to transmission of elections results electronically.”
Spokesperson of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Barrister Felix Morka, however, told Nigerian Tribune that there was no reason to doubt the electoral Commission to live up to its pledge.
He said: “I don’t work in INEC and APC as a party won’t dabble into its operations. “But I think INEC will do what it will do. INEC will do what it says it will do.”
Also speaking with Nigerian Tribune in a telephone interview, former Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Chekwas Okorie however cautioned candidates contesting November 11 elections in the three states to be wary of INEC pledge on electronic transmissions of results.
Chief Okorie tasked the candidates to make sure that they have agents in all the polling units to sign and authenticate manual results collated.
Citing the pronouncements of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal last month, the APGA presidential candidate noted that the Justices have declared that the Electoral Act does not make it mandatory for INEC to transmit results electronically.
He said: “My position is that any serious candidate contesting November election must have agents accredited by INEC in every polling unit and those agents must return results on Form EC8A, which every agent should be able to sign and return to his principal.
“Anyone trusting INEC that it will transmit results electronically is doing so at his own peril! They must not trust INEC.
“That will be risky. Remember that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has ruled that the law doesn’t compel INEC to transit results it collates electronically.
“It must be Polling Unit results collated that is important; it will show actual results on Form EC8A and those who signed. That will also show aggregate of results. So, nobody should trust INEC.”
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