From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The National Association of Seadogs, Pyrates Confraternity, NAS/PC, has stated that President Bola Tinubu and the political class are endangering democracy.
NAS/PC in a press statement by the NAS Capoon, Mr Abiola Owoaje titled: ‘Off-Season elections: Flawed polls endanger democracy’ noted that the conduct of the off-season elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states have again called into the question the neutrality of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the impartiality of the law enforcement agencies.
Owoaje while pointing out a series of electoral malfeasance reported by international and local observers stated that the conduct of some electoral and security officers’ leaves much to be desired.
Though, according to him INEC deserves commendations for the early deployment of electoral materials and the swift response in relation to pre-filled results discovered in Kogi, the bias exhibited by some electoral officials cannot be overlooked.
‘’ 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 identified the ‘capture’ of INEC through appointments of cronies, loyalists and party members as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) as a major factor hampering the conduct of credible elections in Nigeria.
He expressed disappointment that the scandalous practise prominent under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari has been sustained by the Tinubu administration.
Owoaje drew attention to the recent appointment of 10 RECs which attracted criticisms over allegations of some of them linked to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in violation of the Constitution and 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 exploit 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.