Desire of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) to honour an international
invitation may have informed the
decision to reschedule the Edo State governorship poll for Wednesday, September
28, a work day.
INEC had first cited security advice from the police and the Department
of State Security (DSS) for moving the election from Saturday, September 10 to
the new date.
The 18-day postponement came as a surprise to the leading candidates
and stakeholders who argued that a week would have been better in view of the
huge logistics burden on them.
The shift also necessitated the rescheduling of the coronation of Crown
Prince Ehenede Erediauwa as new Oba of Benin from September 26 to October 28.
An investigation revealed that the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood
Yakubu, preferred September 28 to earlier dates suggested by some of his
commissioners to enable him honour an invitation by the German electoral body
to be part of a team of observers for the state elections in the country
scheduled for today (September 18).
At a stakeholders meeting held in Benin penultimate Wednesday, the INEC
boss said that the original September 10
was immutable only to make a volte face 24 hours later following security
concerns raised by the Police and the DSS that Boko Haram planned to strike
during the Sallah holiday in a number of locations across the country including
Edo State.
The INEC chairman jetted out of the country last week ahead of
Germany’s municipal elections held last Sunday, September 11.
Meanwhile, INEC’s decision to fix the rescheduled poll for a work day
has drawn fresh protests from parents whose wards are billed to sit for
Alternative to Physics, Food and Nutrition and Building and Construction on
September 28 in the ongoing General Certification of Education (GCE)
examinations.
It was also gathered that the Presidency is in possession of
intelligence reports revealing “a more than causal relationship” between the
INEC boss and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
Professor Yakubu served as Executive Secretary of the Tertiary
Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), an agency under the Federal Ministry of
Education when Wike was Supervisory minister in charge.
The relationship between them is said to be “very, very close.”
The Rivers governor is one of the arrow-heads of Peoples Democratic
Party’s battle to wrest Edo from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Honestly, this sort of affiliation is a source of concern for anyone
desirous of a free and fair election,” said a source yesterday.
Until INEC decided to shift the September 10 date, parents in Edo had
similarly protested against holding the polls when their wards were scheduled
to sit for Mathematics.
Speaking at the weekend, the Lagos Head of Public Affairs of the West
African Examination Council, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, said that INEC did not
consult it before fixing the new date.
But he said the council would go ahead with the September 28
examinations.
Said Ojijeogu, “We were not consulted before the new date was fixed, I
do not know why. But candidates will sit for the examination in Edo State
because their population is small.
“Only candidates who missed the first examination would sit for the
Alternative to Physics. Both Food and Nutrition and Building and Construction
are not general courses. So, only a few candidates will sit for the papers.
“It is a work day but the government will declare it work-free.”
A senior official of the Edo State Government at the weekend spoke in
the same vein, saying: “The way the INEC chairman has been running the affairs
of the elections leaves much to be desired. It came as a surprise to us when we
heard a Wednesday had been fixed as the new date for the election. Why not
September 17 or 24?
“How can you just go ahead and declare that election will now hold on a
work day without having consulted with the state government or securing its
buy-in since you would want that day declared a holiday.
“In fact, not only Wednesday will be declared holiday Tuesday will also
have to be made holiday, just as Thursday will also likely be observed
unofficially as holiday. Again, no one seems to also care about the implication
of fixing election on a work day for road-users transiting through Edo as a
major gateway between the South-west, South-east and the North.”
But when contacted, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, who is the Chief Press
Secretary to INEC chairman, said the postponement was a collective decision of
INEC management.
He said the poll shift was not a personal decision of the Chairman of
INEC, Prof. Yakubu.
Oyekanmi said: “It is very wicked for anybody to insinuate that the
chairman of INEC is working in tandem with one governor to postpone the Edo
Governorship Election.
“As you may be aware, the law gives INEC the power to fix dates for
election. The commission is independent.
“Edo governorship election would have been held and concluded on
September 10 but for the advisory that came from security agencies asking INEC
to postpone the election due to security reasons.
“In picking a new date, a number of things were considered. The first
is the provision in the law that says election must be concluded clear 30 days
before the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent governor.
“We were also advised by the Bini Traditional Council about the initial
date set for the coronation of the Oba of Benin to avoid any clash.
“The issue of whether or not Germany was going to hold election was not
part of the reasons for postponing the election.”
He insisted that the decision to shift the election and the new date
agreed upon was a collective one by INEC management.
He added: “The INEC chairman was in Benin with four National
Commissioners who formed a quorum to take the decision because as at then INEC
had only six National Commissioners.
“The poll shift was a collective decision. That date was jointly
arrived at as a decision of the commission and not that of the chairman.”
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