HARVESTING AND GROWING DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA: WHAT ABOUT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

By Jerome, Uneje Mary

Nigeria 28^th April 2015. The atmosphere appeared filled with  of hope and expectations as Pa Josiah (not real name) cast his vote with satisfaction. As he emerged from the polling booth, a smile cracks across his old wrinkled face.  As he hobbles away from the polling booth under the support of his walking stick, he feels a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment being part of the process that will effect the desire of the people in the governance structure of his country at all levels.

Three days later, the results are announced. The opposition has won. Pa Josiah is happy. He helped effect change. This he reasoned is democracy. There is no standard definition of the word democracy. It’s said to be “A system of government in which all the people of a state or polity are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly”.  The people clamoring for change are still in the joyous mood on acquisition  of power by the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the ever ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The 2015 general elections was the fifth time Nigerians had the opportunity to exercise their franchise in selecting their country’s leadership both at the State and National level since the return of democracy in 1999. Though not perfect, as there were recorded pockets of irregularities  here and there, the general perception however is that the elections were to an acceptable extend free and fair. It is believed that the people’s votes did actually count including Pa Josiah’s. It can therefore be said with some level of confidence that our democracy has recorded some level of improvement and growth since 2011 when we last went to the polls.

Despite the seeming growth and development of democracy at the National level it still leaves much to be desired especially at the grassroots. The sustainable growth and development of all things including democracy is better from the grassroots up but not the reverse.

Local governments in Nigeria remain the first and the closest governance structure in Nigeria. It is the governance structure, whose leadership is supposed to reflect the wishes and desires of the people whom it is was created to serve. The reverse is however the case as local governments remains the manor farm of State Governors nationwide.  The State executives have hijacked the local government structures as they determine their leadership by staging charade elections through the state independent electoral commissions. This action deprives the grassroots people the right and privilege to choose leaders of their choice who will represent and defend their interest while in office. As stooges of the governor the implanted local government executives connive in looting the treasuries of their local councils thereby leaving the people impoverished and grossly underdeveloped.

Riding on the crest of the wave of change as recorded in the last general elections 2015, it is high time this change begins to cascade down to the grassroots. As the new Government assumes the reins of Power across the country, the era of local government elections being the manor of State Executives must discontinue. The peoples of Nigeria at the grassroots who form over seventy five percent (75%) of the country’s population deserve to choose and elect the leaders of their choice according to their conscience in a free and fair atmosphere.

In Benue State for example, the tenure of the elected local government executives came to an end since November 2014 and the leadership of the local government councils have been determined by the State Governor since then. Only recently, the outgoing Governor appointed caretaker committee members to manage the resources of the twenty three (23) Local Government Areas in Benue State until the next local government elections is conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commission. This new local administration has been foisted on the people. As they are neither chosen nor elected by the electorate, they owe no accountability to the people but rather to the Executive Governor who appoints them. The State Independent Electoral Commission, saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections in the State has not shown any form of preparedness to conduct the elections any time soon. A recent Media report has it that the Governor-elect Chief Dr. Samuel Ortom has promised to conduct a free and fair local government elections in the State as soon as he gets into power.

This is a sign of good things to come. As it is yet a promise, we earnestly look forward to its fulfillment as democracy can only be entrenched where it is strongest at the grassroots. As Pa Josiah and the rest of Nigerians are jubilating  over the outcome of the last general elections as indicator of a maturing democracy in Nigeria, we must remind ourselves that until every Nigerian, including the villagers elect their leaders in a free and fair elections even at the local councils, our democracy cannot and will never be matured.

 

The regional impact of Nigeria’s presidential election

The concession of defeat by the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, marked the first time in the nation’s history that an incumbent leader has been ousted at the ballot box. In a West Africa region that has a mixed record with democracy, and a number of upcoming elections during 2015‑16, political leaders will be looking to learn lessons from the region’s political and economic powerhouse.

An incumbent being defeated is not unheard of in West Africa—Benin, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire have seen change following elections—but it is rare. For it to happen peacefully is even more rare; for example, the defeat of Laurent Gbagbo in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010 resulted in significant violence before he was eventually removed from office.

Common themes

The victor in Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, gained votes on his pledges to curb corruption and tackle the threat from a militant group, Boko Haram, while boosting economic prospects. Public frustration and modest technical improvements in the election authority were enough to outweigh what, like in many African countries, has been formidable incumbency advantages come election time. This will be causing a reassessment of political prospects across the region given that corruption, violence and low incomes are all common issues that incumbent leaders have struggled to address.

The lessons being learnt from Nigeria are likely to be especially strong in Ghana, a country that has historically been heralded as a beacon of African democracy given the conduct of recent elections at which the two main parties have traded power. However, an incumbent president seeking re-election has never been defeated there; the changes of power have been when an incumbent has served the constitutional maximum of two terms in office. There have been distinctive similarities between Mr Jonathan’s political trajectory and that of his Ghanaian counterpart, John Mahama. Both were formerly vice-presidents who came to power after the death of their respective presidents. Both then contested and won a presidential election, but subsequently struggled to turn around disappointing economic performances. Mr Jonathan then failed in his bid to win a further election; Mr Mahama will seek re-election in 2016, but his chances against a resurgent opposition look unfavourable, again mimicking Nigeria. It is notable that the leader of Ghana’s main opposition party, Nana Akufo‑Addo, has spoken in recent days of being able to replicate Mr Buhari’s victory, but that it will take much hard work.

A less direct but still important impact elsewhere

Elsewhere in the region, the impact will be harder to notice. Côte d’Ivoire is holding its presidential poll in October but with the opposition imploding, the country’s two other main parties backing the incumbent, Alassane Ouattara, and the economy performing strongly, an upset at the ballot box appears remote. Similarly, in Togo, where the incumbent, Faure Gnassingbé, is likely to be re-elected on April 25th, the short-term impact will be minimal. Incumbency powers are still strong there and a divided opposition means that there are few serious contenders to Mr Gnassingbé winning a third term. Yet the Nigerian election sets a positive example of peaceful change at the ballot box and this may well influence events at future polls, such as the 2020 Ivorian election, when Mr Ouattara is obliged by the constitution to stand down and the field is likely to be more open.

The influence of Mr Buhari’s victory on events in Burkina Faso and Benin, where presidential polls are scheduled for October 2015 and 2016 respectively (an exact date for Benin’s presidential election is yet to be set), is harder to discern. In neither country will there be an incumbent defending his position, unless Boni Yayi, Benin’s president, succeeds in removing the constitutional term limit that currently bars him from standing again. However, on the back of Mr Buhari’s victory, Nigeria’s credibility as a promoter of democracy in the region will be strengthened and it could use this to influence developments beyond its borders. Voters will also be inspired by the example set by their Nigerian peers, and assuming relatively credible polls take place in Burkina Faso and Benin, this could help to tilt the balance in favour of peaceful regime changes.

Other countries have further to come

In Niger, the last of the countries in Nigeria’s neighbourhood due to hold a presidential poll in the near future, there are several similarities to its much larger southern neighbour. The incumbent, Mahamadou Issoufou, is facing re-election in 2016 and, like Mr Jonathan, has been fighting a Boko Haram insurgency and faced calls to improve management of the country’s natural resources to ensure greater benefits accrue to ordinary citizens. Mr Issoufou has shown more determination than Mr Jonathan to deal with the threat of Boko Haram but economic progress has been modest. The Issoufou administration has also been criticised for trying to undermine the country’s democracy by curbing rights to freedom of speech and assembly, suggesting that he is trying to make the most of his incumbency powers to stifle the prospects of his opponents. Indeed, there are few strong challengers at the moment. The main opposition leader, Hama Amadou, is in exile in France, accusing the government of trying to discredit him by alleging that he was involved in a baby-trafficking scandal. Doubts over the fairness of the election process mean that the example of Nigeria is unlikely to be repeated in Niger.

Overall, the Nigerian example is unlikely to herald a step change in the conduct or outcome of upcoming elections in the region, but neither will it be ignored. Nigeria has been through numerous flawed or skewed elections before it enjoyed the successful recent one, and this may well be the case in other countries too. Many in the region will also look to see if Nigeria can maintain its democratic momentum at imminent state-level elections and beyond. The gains from democracy can be far reaching and have a deep impact, but they can also be lost quickly.

Source: Economist

 

Nigeria Elections: Taraba State Falls Short To Elect 1st Female Governor, Aisha Al-Hassan.

By Morgan Winsor @MorganWinsorIBT  April 14 2015

Sen. Aisha Al-Hassan (center), the All Progressives Congress candidate of Nigeria’s Taraba state, attends a gathering in the local government area of Ussa on Jan. 21, 2015. News Agency of Nigeria

Many Nigerians thought voters in Taraba state would make history by electing the nation’s first female governor. But Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, known as “Mama Taraba” by her supporters, lost to her main challenger, Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Premium Times in Nigeria said Tuesday.

As the April 11 election neared, Al-Hassan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerged as a leading candidate in the race for the Taraba governorship, making it one of the most contested polls in Nigeria this year. Al-Hassan, an attorney, defected from the PDP and joined the opposition party after she was elected senator for the Taraba North constituency in 2011. She was the Taraba state attorney general and commissioner of justice as well as the chief registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

Al-Hassan, a Muslim, pooled a large number of votes from the Gasol local government area as vote counting entered its second day in Taraba, allowing her to surpass the PDP’s candidate, Nigerian newspaper Osun Defender reported.  The lead triggered early celebrations nationwide by those who expected Al-Hassan to become the first female state executive. But as the final results from all 16 local government areas in the eastern state trickled in, Ishaku regained the lead by nearly 64,000 votes and hopes of making history sunk, the Premium Times said.

Nigeria’s election commission is still finalizing the collation of results in Taraba, but is expected to announce the PDP’s victory in the predominately Christian state. President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, a southern Christian seeking re-election, also won the most votes in the eastern state against the APC’s candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim. But Buhari defeated Jonathan nationally by a couple million votes, ending the PDP’s 16-year rule.

culled from International Bussiness Times

 

ONE MORE STEP TAKEN FOR DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA

By James Apeh Esq

The successful conduct of the 2015 general election marked a milestone in the development of the Nigerian democracy. This is not unconnected to the fact that it witnessed a lot of firsts in the history of the Nigerian polity; It was the first time that an incumbent president was defeated at the polls; it was also the first time that a presidential candidate conceded defeat and even went ahead to congratulate the winner.

It would not be entirely incorrect to suggest that people the world over generally view a democratic government as the most preferred system that least violates the rights of citizens. This perception is undoubtedly as a result of the view that democracy in its advanced form is a universal idiom of liberty, justice and human development. Democracy as it is understood today has come a long way in the African continent in general and Nigeria in particular. Because of her rather unfortunate past of being a British colony, the entity known as Nigeria today has had to develop from her traumatic roots in colonialism.

The colonial state which in every respect was the precursor of the post colonial state played a critical role in the slow development of a democracy in Nigeria. In colonial Africa there were two features of state power; its absolutism and arbitrariness. As if to underscore its arbitrariness of power, the officials of the colonial state showed hardly any interest in transforming domination into hegemony. Also since the colonial state was for its subjects, it could not engender any legitimacy even though it made rules and laws profusely and propagated values.

At independence, Africans were seeking a democracy as matter of survival; they believed that there were no alternatives to this quest; they thought that they had nothing to lose and great deal to gain. However this belief was destroyed as the form and function of the state in colonial Africa did not change much at independence. State power remained essentially the same, immense arbitrary often violent, always threatening.

The Nigerian state at independence was inherently a violent institution and to that extent a crisis generating mechanism. Repression suppression and intimidation were essential attributes of the state in the post-colonial period. The establishment of hegemony, consensus building, dialogue, negotiation, respect for human rights and the rule of law were largely alien to its modus operandi. These attributes were inherited form the colonial state. The development of a bourgeoise nation-state based on abiding respect for the rights of citizens and the establishment of a liberal political order was not the central concern for the colonial state. If anything the colonial state was an untamed leviathan which relied on force and coercion rather than hegemony and legitimacy as mechanisms of rule.

Thus the hopes and aspirations of Africans were thus dashed. Democracy they failed to realize was an expensive project, in both human and material resources. It requires discipline, patience, vision and commitment. As such, no sooner had new democracies emerged in Africa than they began to crumble with ease, threatening a return to the state of nature for many. This situation was worsened by the phenomenon of protracted military rule and dictatorship. Nigeria is now fifty four years old and has only witnessed sixteen years of uninterrupted sustained democracy.

Colonialism by itself may not necessarily be the defining factors in ascertaining the direction, speed and scope of change for a country. The nature and ideology of the succeeding elite, geography, tradition, patriotism and culture are fundamental ingredients that explain how people react to given phenomena. The reaction of a group of people to colonialism will differ depending on the cultural luggage of the colonized people. The events that played out in the 2015 general elections can no doubt be seen as a good omen in the direction, speed and scope of the development of democracy in the country.

In spite of the challenges faced, the Nigerian people reacted positively to the development of democracy in the political entity known as Nigeria. They came out to vote even when they were threatened not to, Nigerians waited for the votes to be counted under extreme whether conditions in some cases, the youths represented by the coppers of the national youths service corps played various roles at the polling units during the elections and the academia represented by the REC of various states of Nigerian played an important role of being uncompromising. The civil society organizations played their role of monitoring the elections to ensure that they were fair. The media played their part in informing Nigerians on happenings before, during and after the elections. The president elect on his part played an important role by not giving up on running for the post of the present in spite of repeated failure and finally the incumbent president who lost conceded and congratulated his successor.

Considering the arms build up, the divisive campaigns and international predictions of crisis that preceded this year’s election, Nigerians have every cause to be proud and grateful.  The manner in which the 2015 general election was conducted and the response to the result of declaration by INEC of the results those who ran for elective positions both the governors federal and state level shows that Nigeria is rising . If we collectively and individually resolve to we can record a bigger first than the ones recorded in the 2015 general elections.

 

NIGERIA ELECTIONS: SITUATION ROOM FINAL STATEMENT ON THE GUBERNATORIAL AND STATE HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

 

Issued: Monday, 13^th April 2015

 

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, after observing the State-level elections for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly, which held on Saturday, 11^th April 2015, makes the following statement:

 

The Situation Room acknowledges and commends the significant improvements in the electoral process made by INEC.  In the main, the elections went well across the country, notably with about 90% of polling stations opening on time and the Card Readers operating with minimal hitches. Turn out at the poll was however largely low.

 

Situation Room wishes to draw attention to the following concerns and reservations as observed during the elections, whichraise issues about the credibility of the elections in some States. Information obtained from our networks of field observers and partners indicate the following:

·               Numerous cases of electoral misconduct – disorderly conduct at polling units – in Akwa Ibom (10 reports received), Katsina (17) and Sokoto (18);

·               Many cases of process violations in Sokoto (15 reports received), Adamawa (6), Delta (7) and Katsina States (9);

·               Polling logistics problems in Akwa Ibom (14), Delta (9), Katsina (8), Rivers (11), Adamawa (6) and Sokoto (12) States;

·               Cases of election related violence in Akwa Ibom (18), Abia (9), Anambra (7), Delta  (9), Imo (6), Rivers (16), Benue (6), Katsina (17), Sokoto (17) and Kano States (7);

·               Killings in Rivers State where seven people (including a police officer) were killed as well as in Akwa Ibom (3), Delta (2), Katsina (2).

 

Situation Room is further concerned about the overall conduct of the elections in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States, where there are good grounds to question the credibility of the elections results in both States.

 

In Rivers State, historically deep-rooted political animosities played out in a brazen, violent and naked manner to subvert the electoral process in many local governments in the State. In Akwa Ibom there were also serious questions about the veracity of the results because of reports of active and direct partisan interference with the elections.  There are also concerns about Abia State, which recorded multiple cases of electoral misconduct.

 

We note that INEC has had to cancel elections in polling units in some States because of election-related violence and otherirregularities; while in others it has commenced investigations.

 

The Situation Room hereby calls on INEC to urgently take steps to clinically scrutinise the final collated results from these three States (Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia) against the polling unit results and make a reasoned judgment about them. 

 

In our view INEC should concern itself with possible negative public perceptions of the elections in the three States and ensure that it takes every necessary step to protect the integrity of the elections in the States, as a way of strengthening the trust of the electorate in the voting process.

 

The Situation Room also notes and condemns in the strongest terms the leading role played by prominent public political officeholders and other politicians as well as some INEC officials in encouraging and actively taking part in organized misconduct and disorderlybehaviour that violated the sanctity of the electoral process and calls that action be taken to investigate their activities with a view to prosecuting and sanctioning them, if found culpable, under the law.

 

In addition, Situation Room is concerned about the weak oversight powers of the national headquarters of INEC over Resident Electoral Commissioners and State INEC offices in the management and conduct of elections. This makes it easy for compromised RECs and other State level INEC officers to undermine the credibility of the election sometimes with reckless impunity.

 

The Situation Room congratulates the Nigerian electorate for the collective determination to further improve our elections by turning out in their numbers to exercise their all-important franchise, thus proving themselves to be the real winners of these elections.

 

We further appeal to Nigerians to remain vigilant and protective of their democratic rights and feel free to cast their votes at every election.

 

Rivers State of Nigeria Independent Election Observers Monitoring Report

INDEPENDENT ELECTION MONITORING GROUP (IEMG)

 

 

 

PORT HARCOURT  – April 12, 2015

 

INTERIM REPORT ON OBSERVATION OF THE GOVERNORSHIP AND STATE ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS THAT HELD ON SATURDAY 11 APRIL 2015

 

Background

The Independent Election Monitoring Group (IEMG) observed the  2015 Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday 11 April 2015.

 

IEMG  deployed INEC accredited observers across the local government areas of Rivers state to observe the elections and also tracked the conduct of security agencies deployed to manage the electoral environment during the process. IEMG also  monitored trends on social media. IEMG shared its on the spot field observations  with such networks as the Nigeria Civil Society Election Situation Room, Reclaimniga etc. Observers sent in real time field reports using a specific checklist for tracking compliance with electoral guidelines, and impunity. This preliminary report presents the findings with regards to the accreditation exercise, election security and the use of Card Readers.

 

 

From the reports received thus far from our field observers, we present the following interim report.

 

 

Preliminary Findings

 

1 Arrival of INEC staff

Across the state, INEC officials were reported to had arrived late in most of the  polling units across the local governments of the state. Our observation and tracking show that none of the INEC staff arrived before 9am while most  arrived between 10 and 1pm. This also include INEC materials.  There were  incidents of very late or non-arrival of INEC staff and materials in some polling units. For instance, by 12 noon INEC materials and adhoc staff had not left its RAC at the Primary School 1, Eneka covering Eneka/Rukpokwu Ward 14 in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

 

2.  Commencement of Accreditation

Our observers and information from social media tracking indicate that accreditation did not commence on time where it actually happened. In most places it did not happen as materials never arrived, or when they arrived, were carted away to unknown destinations by unknown gun carrying thugs, oftentimes  in company of uniformed security personnel. 

 

3 . Security presence

Security was a very serious concern  throughout the process in Rivers state. Although generally most polling stations reportedly had security presence, there are reports that security was either absent or insufficient in a number of places. There are documented reports of killings across the state. Violence, intimidation, harassment of voters/observers and disruption and carting away of voting materials were rife across the state. As a direct result, actual voting never took place in most units and wards and local governments in the state. The following examples are very instructive:

 

·      Shooting reigned in Ikuru Town in Andoni Local government area unmolested, home place of the Deputy governor of Rivers state, who recently defected back to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). Voters as a direct result were scared of turning up and that enabled the shooters to have a field day with INEC materials without any let or hindrance.

·      5 men in fake military uniform were arrested while they took charge in the handling of INEC material and handed over to the Kpor Police in Gokhana LGA.

·      Police personnel shot dead in the Rex Lawson Area of Borokiri in the Port Harcourt township, Port Harcourt local government area.

·      3 persons were killed in Omagwa and several others sustained serious injuries. Omagwa is in Ikwerre Local government Area.

·      Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local government area witnessed violence and killings.

·      Fatal stabbing was recorded at Ward 15, Unit 10 of Khana Local Government Area. One Gbogbo Eric.

·      Assistant Inspector General of Police was forced out of the state following orders from the Presidency, because he disciplined a police divisional officer who allegedly procured INEC election result sheets for illicit distribution. The junior police officer was restored to his post at Buguma, while the AIG deployed to Rivers state to take charge of security for the elections was forced back to Calabar on the morning of the election. This no doubt facilitated the degeneration of insecurity throughout the state.

·      Citizens were killed and beheaded , houses burnt and properties destroyed. Mrs Joeba West, a Commissioner in the state suffered this fate.

·      INEC material meant for Abonnema Local Government Area was hijacked and made away with by political thugs.

 

4 .  Disruption of accreditation

 

Generally the accreditation process did not go on smoothly in majority of the units observed, while in some places it went on smoothly. Political thugs were responsible for the major disruptions witnessed. And most of these took place in the presence of security personnel, who looked either helpless or uninterested. Incomplete materials were also  cause for concern and created tension that aided disruption, violence and killings. These cases were not insolated.

·      INEC material was hijacked in Buguma, the Asari Toru Local government area. In same place, the INEC building was torched, material burnt, including vehicles. Accreditation did not happen because the material were not available. No election happened either, but violence made the round and deaths recorded.

·      In Okirika, material was hijacked and privatized by militiamen. They determined who voted under the nose of security personnel. They decided to abandon the card reader for manual accreditation contrary to INEC regulation/instruction/guideline for the election. The INEC adhoc staff neither had voice nor power, therefore, followed contrary orders.

·      APC party agents in all 5 polling units in Kalio-Ama (Ward 9), Okrika were abducted from their units by unknown gun men, while policemen on duty watched helplessly. Spirited efforts were made by other APC persons to trace, locate and release them from where they were being held. It was alleged that their captors were PDP militants. By the time they were restored to their duty posts, electoral materials had been hijacked and taken away by political thugs.

 

·      There was no security presence in Ward 7, Okrika, yet  some politicians in the area were   patrolling openly and with police escourt.

·      The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Rumuepirikom Police Station,  in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State  early aided the movement of INEC election materials at the RAC covering Wards 12 and 13 in Obio/Akpor LGA, situated at Ola-Nu-da Model Primary School, opposite the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Port Harcourt. She (DPO) escorted a Passat wagon car into the RAC and carted away the original materials, shooting and chasing away APC agents. This experience was witnessed in a number of places including Ward 14, Rukpokwu/Eneka, in Obio/Akpor LGA.

 

 

Contrary to the guideline by the Inspector General of Police that police officials should stay away from their political masters during the election, Dr. Tamuno Danagogo, Minister of Sports was seen in  his  Abonnema, Akuku Toru local Government area,  in company with security agents, as he moved around the town.

 

INEC electoral materials in Akuku Toru Wards 15, 16 and 17 were hijacked at gun point. The attackers were led by two notorious cultists who were identified as Hope Dan Opusungi and Kenneth Dan Opusungi. Having seized the materials, the armed men barred polling agents of other political parties from escorting the materials to the distribution centre. The two Opusungis’, were alleged to be card-carrying members of the PDP.

·      In Obio/Akpor LGA, Ward 14, it was a PDP crested bus that took the INEC material from its Eneka Primary School 1 RAC. The police had to shoot in the air and threw teargas to disperse other party agents before leaving the RAC in company of PDP personnel.

·       Shocking cases of cold blooded killings and beheading ,  obstruction of votes , arson , voters intimidation , ballot snatching , missing result sheet , presenting of fake ballot papers , multiple thumb printing , campaigning’s at polling unit , compromise of ad-hoc staffs,  absence of level playing environment ,violence against media personnel and impunity were witnessed in different magnitude across the length and breath of the state. These acts were brazen.

 

5 . Card Reader related issues

 

In a number of places the card reader was used and it functioned well. In others it was abandoned for manual accreditation, contrary to the rule of INEC and this facilitated irregular thumb-printing/massive rigging. In majority of places where election did not hold by reason of violence, the Cared Reader was not tested, or outrightly  gutted by the inferno that ensued in such places as Buguma etal.  It is noteworthy, going into the elections, INEC restated that Card Readers will be used and where there were problems, voting will be done the following day.

 

 

 

 

Preliminary Recommendations:

 

1.  INEC should examine thoroughly the role of its Electoral Officers and adhoc staff to determine whether some of their behaviours were deliberate or informed by the unimaginable level of intimidation, violence and criminality that ensued. This is absolutely necessary because it was observed that in most instances politicians and security officials controlled events at polling units, whereas INEC trained personnel remained subservient, sometimes scared.

 

2.  Security agencies failed to effectively protect voters and the votes, making it absolutely difficult for votes to count in most units in the state. Security should have been boosted following the experiences encountered during the Presidential and National Assembly elections. The motive behind the redeployment of the AIG Zone 6 should be thoroughly examined and check its consequences in view of degeneration of insecurity throughout the state.

 

3.           INEC should ensure adequate preparations are made for ballots to casted in secret, the manner of  counting of ballots and collation of results should be improved. Obswrvers noted that the cubicles were not present, therefore votes were casted openly and dangerously. Political interference in voting were also noticed by reason of the openness. They should also reach out to political parties to educate  them further, that it is the rule of law rather than the rule of the thumb that determines electoral outcome, if only to stem the climate of intimidation and human slaughter.

 

The mini war situation in Rivers state in the name of electoral process is most troubling and must not be allowed to continue. This denied voters the expression of their will. What was observed in the state cannot be said in any reasonable manner to be a near triumph to democracy, or an improvement on what this INEC has set out to do with the electoral process in Nigeria. It is rather a coup d’etat against the will of the voting public in the state.

 

What shows quite clearly in the Rivers state event, rather than a process, is that enemies of democracy continue to discover a whole armory of technology that enables them to retain power despite the huge investment, human energy and voter’s efforts put in place to hold elections aimed at making the votes to count. The name of that technology in this particular situation is impunity.

 

An election as set out by this INEC should confer legitimacy upon the victor, and the need to secure votes should  ensure that the victor reached out to be inclusive. To accept this charade in the name of free, fair and credible election by whatever standard would amount to the denial of an increasingly evident reality.

 

The governorship and house of assemblies elections in Rivers state reminds that war has not yet passed into history. Observers witnessed battle related deaths, maiming for politicians to achieve their goal of attaining power. Those whose constitutional responsibility it is to defend citizens from organized violence were the ones perpetrating it against the citizens. This election showed quite clearly that extreme violence in the case of Rivers state is the preferred route to political power.

 

 

 It is important therefore, not to reward extreme violence as clearly and evidentially represented in the case of Rivers state. Cancelling and specially rescheduling the Rivers state election is the panacea for the present and recurring habit of killing, breaking of fundamental rules for power, is recommended. Democracy and its deepening will be better for it. Based on observers field reports, there is no way the likely  usual allocation of non-existent figures that  will definitely surface in the name of winning and losing the election in the state, represent the will of the voters of the state. We strongly urge INEC not to deny the reality in Rivers state regarding this particular elections, and protect the future of democracy and livelihood of citizens in an accountable manner.

 

Signed:

Esther Achor, esq.

For : Independent Election Monitoring Group (IEMG), South-South Zone

 

Nigeria girls who fled Boko Haram look to brighter future

•  

By Ben Simon

.

 

Lagos (AFP) – A typical day for Deborah includes classes on a manicured university campus and exercise in the evening — basketball, volleyball or aerobics. On weekends, she studies, swims or just relaxes.

 

But the teenager’s life now is one that was unimaginable 12 months ago.

On April 14 last year, she was in a packed dormitory at the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria, seeking a night’s sleep before writing end-of-term exams.

Boko Haram fighters stormed the school after sundown, kidnapping 276 girls.

The mass abduction provoked global outrage and brought unprecedented attention to an insurgency that has devastated northern Nigeria since 2009.

Deborah was one of 57 girls who escaped within hours of the attack. Her life has changed but for the other 219 hostages still being held and for families desperate for news, the nightmare continues.

Despite promises from the government and military that the release or rescue of the hostages was at hand, there has been no credible information concerning their whereabouts in months.

Picture taken on April 30, 2014 shows former Nigerian education minister and Vice-President of the BBOG

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to sell the girls as “slaves” and later said they had been “married off”. Experts say both are possible and they are unlikely to still be all together.

– ‘Blessing in disguise’ –

Deborah and 20 other girls from Chibok who escaped Boko Haram captivity are now studying at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in the northeastern city of Yola.

The privately-funded AUN does not look like other Nigerian universities and certainly bears little resemblance to Chibok, which even before the Islamist uprising began was a deeply impoverished town with poor roads and limited electricity supply.

Spread across a vast stretch of land on the outskirts of Yola, the campus includes an immaculate hotel, with a restaurant overlooking a pool that serves burgers and pizza, where faculty, including visiting Western professors, share sodas with their students.

“It is a beautiful environment,” Deborah told AFP via university staff in an email exchange.

A sign bearing the name of one of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, Naomi Zakaria, han …

The Chibok girls at AUN are studying a curriculum aimed at preparing them to start a four-year undergraduate programme next year.

Deborah said her dream is to work at the United Nations “to help my community in Chibok, Nigeria and the world”.

Others talk of becoming doctors or lawyers. All stress the importance of education. With degrees from the well-regarded AUN those dreams may come true.

But among the 21, the prospects feel bittersweet, as international attention returns to the plight of those still being held one year on.

Thoughts of their missing classmates are never far away and in their prayers daily, they said.

“We feel sad with the advantages we have now because so many from our hometown do not have these advantages,” they added.

 

Supporters of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign hold a placard as policewomen block supporters of the  …

They also acknowledged they would almost certainly not be studying at the university had they not been kidnapped.

Mary put this conflict in starker terms: “When the insurgency struck, I was devastated but little did I know it was going to be a blessing in disguise.”

– Horror with a purpose –

The Chibok girls at AUN felt united in a common goal to ensure that some good must come from last year’s tragedy.

“It has been a horrible journey yet we believe that coming to AUN is for a purpose, which is to be an instrument of positive change in our hometown,” Sarah said.

“We have not been broken by the attack. We see ourselves as the people who have been chosen to make positive future changes not just in Chibok, but in our country and the world,” she added.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the hostage crisis was heavily criticised, especially over his administration’s failure to immediately recognise the severity of the attack and to swiftly launch a major rescue effort.

Jonathan’s defeat in last month’s general election to challenger Muhammadu Buhari may have partly been caused by his inability to contain the Islamist violence.

Boko Haram, whose name loosely translates from the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria as “Western education is forbidden”, had already been suspected of committing crimes against humanity before the Chibok mass abduction focused global outrage.

But the girls studying at AUN suggested the Islamist foot-soldiers who carried out the kidnappings ultimately deserve mercy.

Northeastern Nigeria provides few opportunities and little hope of employment for young men, making them vulnerable to radicalisation, they said.

“I forgive Boko Haram for what they have done and I pray God forgives them too,” Blessing said.

 

Can Buhari turn Nigeria’s oil into wealth for the people?

More on: Corruption and governance

Nigeria’s President-Elect Muhammodu Buhari addresses a news conference outside his house after he voted in Daura, March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye

 

      I was wrong. For the past several months, I argued against the growing talk of a potential win by Nigeria’s opposition party in last Saturday’s presidential polls. I spouted the conventional wisdom: the president of an oil-rich country, especially one with weak institutions, enjoys too many advantages and too much influence to be unseated.

The win by opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari signals a major step forward for Nigerian democracy. It’s the first time a Nigerian opposition party has won since military rule ended in 1999, and the elections seem to have been relatively peaceful.

Buhari’s win surprised me because Nigeria’s oil sector theoretically confers great advantages on the incumbent. For the five years that President Goodluck Jonathan sat atop the world’s 12th largest oil industry, oil prices averaged over $100 per barrel, and he exercised high levels of discretion in how oil revenues were spent.

For instance, he influenced the amount of oil revenues distributed among the country’s powerful governors, and funded special programmes for the Niger Delta region that cost $1.2 billion in 2013 alone.

The head of state also gets to allocate valuable upstream, import and export licenses, which can be used to reward friends or appease enemies. Oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke steered many of these prized assets towards Nigerian companies, many of which relied on strong political connections to garner favour in discretionary selection processes.

The leakiness of Nigeria’s oil sector also nets political gains, if political elites benefit from illicit flows. Nigeria loses around 100,000 barrels a day to oil theft. As suggested in a 2013 Chatham House report, much of that theft relies on official complicity, and therefore may have benefited powerful interests in the Niger Delta.

However, the election results suggest that these advantages were not enough to return Jonathan to power. Rather, shortcomings in how Jonathan managed the country’s oil wealth may have led voters to turn toward his opponent. Broadly speaking, high poverty rates continued in spite of historic oil returns.

More specifically, three examples illustrate the administration’s weak governance record. First, while Jonathan used oil money to increase security budgets from $3.2 billion in 2009 to $4.8 billion in both 2013 and 2014, the military has struggled in the fight against Boko Haram, and security was a hot electoral issue.

Second, a failure to accumulate savings during the years of high oil prices left Nigeria ill-prepared to manage the dramatic 2014 price crash. The economic decline led to major downgrades in Nigeria’s investment classification, and the dropping value of the naira left everyday Nigerians – a.k.a. voters – feeling the pinch.

Third, numerous scandals, controversies and critical reports suggested that Jonathan managed the oil sector in a sub-optimal manner that left room for corruption. The 2012 fuel subsidy scam saw Nigeria lose $6 billion; the 2012 Ribadu report pointed out other losses on a similar scale; and the central bank governor blew open a 2013 controversy over whether the national oil company NNPC illegally retained $20 billion in public funds. The government’s unkept promises to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill reinforced its reputation for opposing, or at least unable to effect, a clean-up.

Nigerians will now find out if Buhari can manage the country’s oil wealth in a manner that engenders broad-based development. Oil sector reform simply must be a priority for the victor. From restructuring NNPC to rethinking the problematic excess crude account, there are many ways to increase the benefits that Nigerian citizens receive from their oil wealth.

With lower prices encouraging fiscal discipline and a new leader in power, it seems a promising time for this agenda to advance. This time, I hope I’m right.

(Alexandra Gillies is the director of governance programmes at the Natural Resource Governance Institute.)

 

BUHARI WINS 2015 NIGERIA GENERAL ELECTIONS

By Orebiyi Temitope

“Nigeria decides 2015” was the team of the presidential election and senatorial elections held on the 28^th day of March 2015. The focus of this work is on the presidential elections held in the 36 states of Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory. It was a period of anxiety and anticipation as supporters of the two dominant political parties; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with its presidential candidate as the incumbent president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the All Progressive Congress (APC) with its presidential candidate as General Muhamadu Buhari. Nigerians watched with kin interest as the results of the polls in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT were being officially released to the electorates by INEC after the accreditation of the voter’s card and subsequent voting in the early hours of Saturday morning to the evening of same day. The results of the poll started coming in from Saturday evening up to Tuesday evening being the 31 day of March 2015. The APC pulled majority of the votes in the northern part of Nigeria as well as the middle belt, it also got support from western Nigeria with Osun and Oyo state voting for the APC including Lagos state. The PDP pulled the majority of the votes in eastern Nigeria including the Niger Delta and in some parts of Western Nigeria.

The elections were however not without irregularities as the new technology developed to aid the election process which was the card readers were not able to recognize the finger prints of the electorate in some polling units across the country while some of them broke down out rightly. The results in some of the polling centers was also canceled due to irregularities in the electoral process. On the 31 of March 2015 while INEC was still dolling out the results of the presidential elections and one more state (Borno state) was still left to be pronounced, it was gathered that the incumbent president called the opposition to congratulate him on his conceded victory. The presidential candidate of the APC was eventually pronounced winner by the INEC Chairman on the evening of the 31 0f March 2015. The act of the incumbent president in calling to congratulate his main opposition, the eventual president elect was a move in the right direction and symbolic of peace and has been applauded by Nigerians and the international community.

The majority of Nigerians clamored for ‘change’ which was the campaign slogan of the APC and got a change of their president it is now left for the president elect and his campaign group to keep to their campaign promises of a better Nigeria which their slogan ‘change’ really represents. The 2015 presidential elections has come and gone but its aftermaths will remain in the consciousness of Nigerians years to come. I dare to say that by the singular act of the incumbent president in putting a call across to congratulate the president elect on his conceded victory means that he has accepted defeat in good faith and we do not except any forms of election petitions as is the usual trend with elections in Nigeria. I want to congratulate Nigerians on a very peaceful election and transition of power, the winning party should be magnanimous in victory and live up to their campaign promises.

Orebiyi Temitope writes in from the Abuja office of Lawyers Alert.

 

VERIFICATION STATEMENT OF THE OFFICIAL 2015 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS BY THE TRANSITION MONITORING GROUP

INTRODUCTION:

The TMG conducted a Quick Count as part of its overall observation of the 2015 presidential elections. The Quick Count is an advanced observation methodology that employs well established statistical principles and sophisticated information technology. Quick Counts, also known as Parallel Vote Tabulations (PVTs), provide the most timely and accurate information on the conduct of voting and counting and is the only observation methodology that can independently verify the accuracy of official election results.

TMG undertook the Quick Count to provide voters, candidates, political parties, and INEC with independent information about whether the official results for the presidential election truly reflect the ballots cast at polling units. If INEC’s official results fall within TMG’s estimated range then the public, political parties and candidates should have confidence that the official results reflect the ballots cast at polling units. If the official results don’t reflect the ballots cast, TMG will expose it.

2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: THE QUICK COUNT METHODOLOGY

The Quick Count for the 2015 Presidential Election involved deploying citizen observers to a representative random sample of 1,507 polling units at which there are 849,460 registered voters. There are sampled polling units in every geopolitical zone, every state and 774 Local Government Area (LGA) of the Country. The sample is carefully constructed by a trained statistician to ensure every geopolitical zone, state and LGA of the Country is included proportionally in the sample. The number of sampled polling units and registered voters in that geopolitical zone, state or LGA. For example, South west geopolitical zone has 20.6% of all polling units in the Country (24,683 of 119,979) and 20.6% of polling units in the Quick Count sample (310 of 1,5070) are in South West. Similarly North West has 25.6% of all registered voters (17,620,728 of 68,845,062) and 25.5% of the registered voters in the Quick Count sample (217,011 of 849,460) are in North West.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Ladies and Gentlemen, TMG’s Quick Count estimates and INEC’s official results clearly show that MUhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) received the most votes and Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) received the second most votes and that all other candidates only received a very small number of votes. TMG’s Quick Count also confirms that the APC and PDP presidential candidates attained “not less than one-quarter of the votes cast… in each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the federation and Federal Capital Territory” as required by the Nigerian Constitution.

According to INEC, APC received 53.9% of the vote while TMG’s Quick Count estimates that APC received 59.4% (+/-2.3%) of the presidential vote. Similarly, INEC’s figures show PDP received 45.0% of the vote while TMG’s Count estimates that PDP received 39.2% (+/-2.2%) of the presidential vote. Therefore TMG confidently verifies the accuracy of the official results for the presidential election based on the independent collection of official results from sampled polling units.

INEC’s official result for APC and PDP do not fall within the margin of error of the TMG’s Quick Count estimates. This does not invalidate the official results as announced by INEC as both INEC and TMG’s Quick Count show the same national voting pattern and both clearly show APC receiving the largest number of votes. In addition, for 31 of the 36 states and the FCT INEC’s official results are consistent with TMG’s Quick Count estimates.

However, TMG’s Quick Count estimates strongly suggest that turnout was inflated during the collation process in the South-South. The official turnout figures for five geopolitical zones are consistent with TMG’s estimated turnout for South-South is 40.6% (+/-4.5%). Thus official turnout in South-South was likely inflated during the collation process by at least 10.8%.

TMG’s Quick Count shows that in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states the official turnout figures were inflated. For Cross Rivers and Edo the INEC official turnout figures are consistent with TMG’s Quick Count estimates.

At over 95% of polling units voters were able to cast their ballots. However, TMG citizen observers also reported a limited number of places, predominantly in the South-South, where the election started, but were never completed due to problems such as card reader malfunction and violence. While it is regrettable that some Nigerians were unable to vote, the votes from these polling units would not have affected the outcome of the presidential election given the margin of victory. As a result, all candidates and parties should accept the presidential results.

CONCLUSION

TMG calls on the winning candidate and party as well as their supporters to be magnanimous in victory. For those candidates who did not win, we urge them to accept the results because they reflect the votes cast. TMG calls upon all candidates, all parties and all Nigerians to show political maturity and to maintain the peace during the political transition as committed to by both leading presidential candidates in the two recently signed Abuja Peace Accords. According TMG commends President Goodluck Jonathan for taking the bold initiative of congratulating Muhammadu Buhari on his victory.

Steps should be taken to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition of power. This will be Nigeria’s first democratic transition from an incumbent president to an opposition political party candidate. This is an important milestone in the democratization of our country. All Nigerians, regardless of the party they support, should be proud of this accomplishment. In the absence of any legal translational provisions of this nature, TMG recommends that Nigeria draws from best practices around the world to initiate a smooth and peaceful transition and ensure the handover of power on May 29, 2015.

At the same time, the election cycle is not yet over. TMG calls INEC to immediately investigate the inflation of turnout figures during the collation process from Akwa-ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers. If this was a deliberate attempt to subvert the vote of the Nigerian people, then those responsible must be held accountable.

TMG urges INEC to take all necessary steps to address the logistical challenges that once again plagued the delivery of materials and deployment of staff to polling units as well as to resolve the issues with the ability of the card readers to reliably verify voter fingerprints in a reasonable amount of time.