A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, in this interview on Channel TV monitored by Linus Aleke, says political parties in Nigeria do all manner of things to compromise integrity of the election, among other issues
Following the recent allegations by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), that there is a plot to truncate the 2023 elections, do you have any doubt in your mind about INEC’s ability to deliver credible election next year, bearing in mind any harassment and intimation?
Well, as we get closer to the elections, all sorts of things happen and either, out of desperation or out of decision making and I think the challenge for the electoral commission and for all of us citizens who want to see an election with integrity is to remain focused on what INEC is supposed to do, what it is doing and how we can all complement what the electoral commission is doing, for successful elections. I think somebody said, a long time ago, that anything is possible in our country. So, we cannot just wish away, these kinds of allegations, when they are indeed made, but frankly, these allegations are not things we hear from INEC itself. Until INEC begins to complain that these kinds of things are happening and that its constitutional mandate of delivering free, fair, and credible elections is threatened, I don’t think we should put a lot of weight on this. But as I said earlier, anything is possible. Politicians can be desperate, and the use of technology scares many politicians they get afraid that their traditional methods of rigging elections are threatened by the value that the use of technology will bring to the process. But again, those politicians who are desperate and who do this frankly cut across all the political parties and they do all manner of things to subvert the integrity of elections. Even amongst the dominant political parties, some are desperate and reckless and they want to win elections by all means.
As a former chairman of the commission, you are an insider, how susceptible is INEC to these possible manipulations, and if INEC is going through this kind of pressure and pain, who does it cry to?
As I pointed out earlier, the closer we get to the elections the more that desperation shows. Why I am not lending any credibility to what had been alleged because, from my own experience, when the election draws closer, some politicians will become afraid, however, the introduction of technology will stop the rigging of the election, using their old methods. So, they came out and at a point, even started demanding publicly for me to either resign or to proceed on what they called terminal leave so that I will not supervise the conduct of the 2015 general elections. They have not changed, they will also, try to exhibit similar tendencies now if they feel threatened by the new technology. I think that what is most important is the capacity of the election management body to resist that pressure, and having recognized that using technology will add value to just remain focused and to ensure that they are not stopped from using the BVAS, as well as deploying the electronic transmission of results because they now have a legal backing to be able to do that.
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Some complained about the recent appointment of INEC commissioners, alleged to be partisan, does that raise a red flag for you as well?
Well, INEC commissioners are better when they are impartial and non-partisan. Especially, when it comes to discharging their responsibility without fear or favour, in terms of delivering peaceful and credible elections. Any time commissioners or resident electoral commissioners are nominated and there are allegations of partisanship, it is very very important for the national assembly, particularly, the Senate Committee and the Senate itself to thoroughly interrogate all of those allegations, and to be able to ensure that the people that they endorse are the people who have the credibility and non-partisan disposition to discharge this responsibility. I also think that before the national assembly approved these current nominations of resident electoral commissioners, there had been allegations of some of them being either partisan or working very closely with the incumbent government and so forth. Recently, I had the chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters that screened these candidates, who said, very definitely, that they had done a thorough investigation together with security agencies and that they are satisfied that the people that they recommended to the Senate and who I understand have now been screened and passed, are not partisan, insisting that the allegations of their partisanship and other things were spurious. One can only hope that that is the case. Certainly, in terms of the nomination, of course, by the president and the screening by the Senate, it is very important to ensure that those who are recommended and who are screened are non-partisan because that is the only way that perceptions cannot be brought by citizens or other parties to undermine the integrity of the process.
Are you still in active politics, are you still a member of PRP?
Yes, I am a very active member of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
Over time, we have seen that the contest is often between major parties, what are the chances of your party in the coming elections?
You have to understand that politics is about choices and the more choices citizens have as voters the better. Our only hope is that they will choose the right kind of people. Our party is in politics for the long run, it is not just about the 2023 general elections. We have a candidate, we believe stands on equal footing with all the candidates of other political parties and we believe that if given a chance, he will drive a process of change based on the philosophy of our party as well as on the manifesto of bringing positive changes to our country. So, it should not surprise anybody that there are many candidates and ultimately, it is not over until it is over.
