Ahead of tomorrow’s presidential and national assembly elections, the former Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Mike Igini, Esq, has advised Nigerians to choose wisely the kind of person they will entrust their destinies to in the next four or eight years.
Igini, who was the immediate-past Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in charge of Akwa Ibom State, admonished Nigerians to bear in mind that there will be consequences for the choices they will be making in choosing their candidates.
In a statement titled: A reminder on what Nigerians need to know about INEC procedures, Igini said that the votes of the people now count more than ever before and that is why politicians are desperate to buy votes
According to him, “The votes of the people now count more than ever before and that is why politicians are desperate to buy votes. We must all bear in mind that there will be consequences for the choices that you will make in all these elections for the next four or eight years.
“You must be guided in the decision of your choice by the kind of Nigeria you want to see and leave and those who can lead the way for us collectively to achieve our desires in this country. You all must come out to vote and fix the politics to fix the economy.”
Continuing, he said, “In the last six months, l have as part of my continuing contribution to give meaning and purpose to the ballot as the best means of the expression of the will of people in a democracy, embarked on weekly Live public education and enlightenment on electronic platforms freely provided by the management of Arise, AIT, Channels, TVC, Silverbird television stations as well a print media on what the Nigerian people need to know about the 2022 Electoral Act and INEC’s innovations and procedures that have put voters at the centre of our electoral democracy and candidates at the periphery on Election Day.
FG spent N1trn in Jan, Feb on debt servicing –DMO
“The grave error or mistake of decades of failure to recognize the primacy or centrality of politics and political processes both internal and external in shaping state goals and development outcomes is what has brought us to where we are today. Go out on Saturday and vote.
“The election of Saturday is a general election for the people of this country to decide the future. This is not a delegate primary election of political parties where delegates are given a special dress to wear like prisoners, locked up in a hotel, not to be spoken to by anyone, and driven to the venue to vote as directed.
“On Saturday, all Nigerian voters are not required to go to INEC offices nor political party offices to take directives from anyone
to tell you who to vote for on that day. That is why shock and lamentation await politicians that want to rely on vote buying that will have no meaningful impact on the outcome of the election.
“Given the new re-awakening and consciousness by Nigerians as evidenced by the share number of registered voters (93.4 million), many of whom are tired and fed up with a country with so much potential for greatness but largely undermined by leadership problem.
“What will happen on Saturday if Nigerians carry further their anger, pains, hunger, and frustration to the polling units, the 2023 election will be an electoral revolution, the type of which, we have never witnessed in our recorded history.
“The outcome of the 2023 election will be determined emphatically by the youths of this country who are above seventy million (70,473,990) on the voter’s register. Similarly, the entire presiding officers/Assistant presiding officers, seven hundred thousand three hundred and eighty four (707,384) out of the total one million plus ad hoc staff that will man all polling units and conduct the Saturday election are currently serving youth corps members (NYSC) who are themselves youths that are demanding a new deal on the leadership challenge of our country.”
According to them, Obi has failed to recognise the important role of the 36 state chapters’ leadership but rather choose to work with cronies and support groups.
The Gombe State LP chairman and co-ordinating chairman for the 36 States, Sani Abdulsalam at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, said such tendencies could affect the party’s performance at the polls.
He was accompanied by the national vice chairman (North East), Mohammed Alkali, and the Yobe State chairman, Ibrahim Bukar, amongst others.
Abdulsalam alleged that money meant for the mobilisation of poll agents was withheld by the national chairman, Julius Abure.
He hinted that monies expected to be channelled to polling unit agents through state chairmen or national officers have not been done, stressing the fundamental need for polling unit agents for winning elections.
While bemoaning the paucity of LP’s polling unit agents, among other things, he accused Obi of insensitivity and high-handedness.
Abdulsalam said, “I speak on behalf of 36 state Chairmen of our party in my capacity as the Coordinating Chairman.
“We have never been respected by the party leadership and also our presidential candidate has no respect for our party executives at state levels because Peter Obi deliberately mismanaged our goodwill with the imposition of his members and other support groups that decamped with him in May 2022 to our party.
“Of note, Wednesday, February 22, 2023, was the meeting we had with the National Chairman in the party head office where a discussion was held about the logistics support for state chapters and National officers towards effective mobilisation of our members for the presidential and National Assembly election on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
“To our surprise, the National Chairman said the Presidential candidate has no confidence in all the 36 state chapters’ leadership but would rather choose to work with their cronies and support group that came with him.
“The greatest shock from the National Chairman was that money for agents will not be sent to any State Chairman or National officers except those three NWC members including a woman and that all state Chairmen and 19 other members already picked by Mr Peter Obi himself will be given monies meant for party agents and an alert will be received by 10 pm tonight Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
“As of now, no alert has been received by any State Chairmen and information reaching us confirmed that money was paid based on ethnic and religious consideration because only persons of a particular ethnic group currently run the campaign of Mr Peter Obi in cohort with the National Chairman, has polluted the party.
“As members of the Labour Party National Executive and National Working Committee, it is our considered opinion and informed conclusion that Peter Obi cannot win this election since all party executives have been sidelined. He is not ready and is grossly ill-prepared for the Presidential race.”
