By Olusegun Olanrewaju
Apex northern socio-political group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), yesterday joined forces with those protesting fresh appointments into the national commissionership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In what it signposts as a ‘final warning’, the Forum called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, in the spirit of safeguarding national interest, electoral integrity, and democracy, withdraw the latest list of commissioners sent to the Senate for confirmation.
The call was contained in a statement signed by ACF National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, who warned the president that if the list is not withdrawn, it may portend a bad omen for the coming general elections and beyond.
Recall that, on Monday, a South-East Group, Igbo Political Progressive Union (IPPU), asked the president to review the list of nominees for national commissioners sent by INEC to the senate, so as not to deny states such as Anambra, Ebonyi, and Enugu representatives at the commission.
In a statement signed by its chairman, John Nwobodo, and Secretary, Ifeanyi Ozigbo, the IPPU argued that President Buhari had recently forwarded to the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, six nominees for confirmation as national commissioners, “in line with his constitutional mandate”.
Sequel to this, the ACF, in its yesterday’s statement entitled, ‘INEC Commissioner Nominees: Why Is It That Persons of Proven Integrity Are Endangered Under President Buhari?’, said, “We, therefore, call on Mr President, for sake of national interest and a need to safeguard our electoral democracy in 2023, to recall the list sent to the Senate and appoint people who have proven records of commitment to electoral integrity that Nigerians already know nationwide.
“This is for Nigerians to have confidence in the preparations for the 2023 election.”
The northern group added, “It is indeed shocking and highly disappointing to many Nigerians that the list containing names of commissioners to be appointed into INEC excluded persons that the Nigerian people have applauded for their undoubted commitment to credible elections since they were appointed into the Election Management Body way back in 2011.
“Whereas no human being is indispensable, it is important to question the motive of removing individuals that represent true reforms and integrity of our electoral process and expect Nigerians to hope for credible elections in 2023.”
The group also raised certain posers as to why President Buhari should, among other things, deny tenure renewal to people like Prof. Okey Ibeanu, who has been described as an extremely brilliant man with high integrity “because he supervised a credible election in Anambra”.
It also asks why “an honest and straight-forward personality like AVM Mu’azu be refused a second tenure and why should the National Commissioner, Engr. Nahuche, regarded as a very disciplined person, resigned from INEC when our public institutions like the electoral body needed such people to promote and propagate the institutional values that INEC is meant to promote?”.
The ACF also requests to know why someone like the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Sokoto State, Alhaji Sadiq Musa Abubakar, whom it said “demonstrated character and integrity in the 2019 election” was not appointed as a national commissioner.
Another ground of protest by the apex northern group is why, under the Buhari administration, “persons who demonstrate incorruptibility, a high sense of integrity are either exited from the system or are endangered while in service, under the government of Mr. President who is reputed to be a man of integrity?”
ACF asked why “few exceptional individual RECs like Mr Mike Igini (Esq) in the 2015 elections who stood their grounds at the risk of their lives for credible elections that made it possible for President Buhari and others to win the election with legitimacy” was dropped and why having worked so hard to build a system that lends credence to the legitimate outcome of elections are being dumped.
“Why is it that these few RECs that have shown uncommon integrity given the sensitive nature of INEC job and others who exhibited the same character of consistency and did well in the 2019 election are now side-lined? How does a nation get a pool of the required critical mass of people to man its institutions to give credibility to process and outcome?
“If those who have shown competence and demonstrated good character are treated with disdain, what message is the president sending to the general public about integrity, if these few exceptional individuals are treated this manner?” the group questioned.
It added, “If Mr President fails to review the list of Nominees for Senate and make changes, the clear message is that serving your country with integrity and honesty doesn’t matter anymore. That is why Nigerians are shocked that some of the serving RECS that Nigerians see as a symbol of hope that upright people are still in INEC have all now been left out.
“The list of current nominees do not command public confidence of Nigerians because they are established and largely partisan proxy nominees, a trend that Nigerian electoral history was forced to retreat from after the 2007 general election.
“The president is reputed as a man of integrity yet those who have proven record of integrity and competence in lNEC and who have helped to provide much-needed credibility to electoral outcomes since 2011, 2015 and 2019 from North-West, North-East and South-south and who ought to be elevated as National commissioners have all been sacrificed because of their integrity and incorruptibility on matters of the election.
“This is clear retreat and regression to the electoral fiascos of the past such as 2003 and 2007 that President Buhari himself decried when he participated in that election.”
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The issue
President Buhari’s letter read by the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan on the floor of the Senate had contained names of the nominees which included May Agbamuche (Delta State) representing South-South; Mr. Ukeagu Nnamdi (Abia) representing South-East; Major-Gen. A. B Alkali (retd.) Adamawa, representing North-East; Rada Gumus (Bayelsa), also representing South-South; Mohammed Haruna (Niger) representing North-Central, and Sam Olumekun (Ondo) representing South-West.
The president also nominated Mr. Olaniyi Ijalaye (Ondo State, South-West) as Resident Electoral Commissioner.
But in its Monday statement, the IPPU had stated that: “It behooves on Mr. President to not only appoint men and women of proven integrity and impeccable character but also to be guided by the lofty principle of federal character which provides for all appointments to reflect the nuances of all ethnic and sub-groups in Nigeria.
“It must be stated even at the expense of redundancy that the appointment of the nominees follows the serving out of the tenure of some previous National Commissioners representing various zones of the country, and the need to strengthen the Commission ahead of the 2023 general election.”
