From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in handling two major political developments in the country that broke out last week, assumed the status of a biblical city set on a hill which cannot be hidden.
The developments have placed the electoral umpire in the eye of the storm. The events that happened, in quick succession, also posed very serious threat, big enough to redefine and reshape the general perception many Nigerians have about the electoral umpire, especially on its independence status.
The tension-soaked recall proceedings against the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and more curiously the allegations raised by the coalition of opposition political parties on the reluctance and or outright refusal of the commission to register new political parties, have no doubt put the commission on the spot.
For instance, the allegations, blackmails, attacks and expression of frustrations from the opposition coalition against the commission was obvious, going by their claims that INEC is thwarting all their efforts to set up a formidable, viable political platform, which will help them take vantage position to favourably compete and launch deadly attacks to dismantle the All Progressives Congress (APC) strongholds in the 2027 General Elections.
Certainly, the allegation against INEC over its reluctance to register new parties, cannot be compared with the expectations of many Nigerians on how the electoral umpire will handle the escalating intrigues trailing the recall proceedings against the embattled Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.
Since the recall process hit the airwaves last week, many Nigerians have been waiting apprehensively to know how the commission will handle it to a logical conclusion without showing any iota of bias or succumb to political influence from the high places.
What started like an expensive joke later snowballed into a political tension through allegations and counter allegations, threatening to consume the gladiators and possibly discredit the electoral commission.
For instance, in the statement by Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner & Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, the commission had reminded the Senatorial District of the stringent conditions required to recall a Senator, assuring the public that it will be guided by a transparent legal framework.
Instructively, INEC, in bluntly faulting the recall proceedings against Senator Natasha, clearly noted that its immediate observation is that members of her senatorial district were progressing in error. It however, reassured the warring factions and the public, for the umpteenth times, that it will religiously follow the constitutional stipulations to prosecute the recall process, urging Nigerians to discountenance the speculations and insinuations in the social media.
The electoral umpire stressed that; “the process of recall is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, available on our website. All petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework.
“The petition from Kogi Central Senatorial District was accompanied by six bags of documents said to be signatures collected from over half of the 474,554 registered voters spread across 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas (Wards) in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene,” the statement reads in part.
Faulting the recall process, the electoral umpire noted; “our immediate observation is that the representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines.”
However, while many Nigerians were still struggling to assimilate the statement, and possibly come to the reality concerning the political development, with a view to comparing it with such similar incident against Senator Dino Melaye in the 9th Assembly, another response from the commission changed the dynamics, leaving many pundits confused.
In what many considered a fresh twist and a complete summersault few hours after the first statement, the commission had revealed that it has formally written to notify Senator Natasha about the recall proceedings against her.
“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the Senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address. The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the commission’s website. The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50 per cent) of the registered voters in the constituency. This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the commission,” the commission said.
Reacting to the political imbroglio, on his verified X handle at the weekend, Prof. Mohammed Kuna, the Special Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Mohmood Yakubu, noted that significant resources with huge cost implications would be involved in the recall process.
Kuna added that the recall process would involve staff mobilisation, technology, recall material deployments, and transportation.
“A recall process is like conducting three senatorial district elections because we will go back to the field three times. It is more expensive than conducting a senatorial election,” he warned.
Equally weighing in on the recall process, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, assured that the commission has no special interest in the matter.
Reacting in a chat with the Daily Sun, Rotimi noted that “the current recall process initiated by some constituents of the Kogi Central Senatorial District against their Senator is not the first to be handled by INEC and won’t be the last. Therefore, the commission has no special interest in the matter.
“Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is clear on the role INEC should play when more than one half of the registered voters in a constituency append their signatures to a petition addressed to the INEC Chairman, alleging loss of confidence in their representative.
“The commission in turn has put together a comprehensive document called Regulations and Guidelines for the recall of a member of the National Assembly, House of Assembly of a State or Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory. With regard to the petition from the constituents of the Kogi Central Senatorial District, we are still at the preliminary stage. We received the petition, notified the Senator sought to be recalled and copied the Presiding Officer of the Senate as required by our Regulations.
“The next step is to ascertain that the petition meets the threshold of having the signatures of more than one half, that is 50 per cent plus 1 of the 474,554 registered voters in the Kogi Central Senatorial District.
“If INEC ascertains that the number of signatures meet the threshold, the next stage is to carry out a verification, which is a rigorous process because it will be carried out at the 902 polling units in that Senatorial District.
“And we have assured the public that accredited observers and interested stakeholders will be allowed to observe the process. To be sure, INEC is not interested in the politics of the Recall. We are only concerned about the process,” Rotimi assured
However, as Nigerians continue to wait to know how the unfolding drama would finally play out and what becomes of the outcome of the recall process, the commission, during the week under review, equally came under attack, following the allegations concerning its reluctance or outright refusal to register new political parties ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Former APC National Vice Chairman, North-West, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, in a statement, lamented that the electoral umpire has bluntly frustrated all the efforts made to register new political parties despite applications from many groups and individuals.
He noted that; “the consensus among leaders is that the final decision about processes of candidates’ selection can only be handled and determined when there is agreement regarding the political party on whose platform the coalition will field candidates. The question of negotiating the political party is the most difficult challenge. This is an area that many members of the coalitions have been engaging in different ways for more than a year now. Perhaps, it is important to highlight that there are many groups, including some members of the coalition who have filed applications to register political parties.
“For reasons best known to INEC, these applications are being frustrated. The only conclusion that can be reached in the circumstance is that INEC has decided that it will not register new parties. To make matters worse, many of the existing registered parties who did not meet the electoral threshold of winning any seat in the last General Elections face the threat of deregistration,” he noted.
Though INEC has maintained a sordid silence in defending the allegations of its refusal to register new political parties ever since the claim came to the limelight, many have accused it of playing the script of the presidency and by extension the ruling APC.
But the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, blamed the opposition for failing to meet up with the provision of the necessary documents in compliance with constitutional provisions for registration of new political parties.
He told Daily Sun that “we operate a transparent process. There are conditions to be fulfilled and there is an application procedure to be followed, as contained in the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties (2022). We receive requests from associations seeking registration from time to time, but the applicants’ failure to provide the necessary documents and comply with constitutional provisions often slows down the process. There are documents to be submitted and verified, and there are different stages of an application. An applicant needs to be in compliance with all the requirements and must also submit genuine documents. If you submit a document that we cannot verify, there’s a problem.
“If there are issues during the application process, the commission immediately informs the applicant to rectify such areas. And once all conditions are fulfilled, registration is guaranteed,” Rotimi said.
However, in the consideration of many pundits, the handling of these issues, especially the recall process and registration of new political parties, will be the final determinant of what legacy the incumbent chairman of the electoral umpire would be leaving behind as he prepares to take his leave of the commission, just as another pundit declared that: “Unless, the presidency wants to retain Yakubu after his second tenure, the manner with which he would pilots these two issues confronting the commission will ultimately define or redefine the perception many Nigerians will finally have about him when he leaves the stage.”