In 1927, former Liberian President, Charles Kings organized an election in which he was returned as President of Liberia. Kings was immediately after that election, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as organizing and winning the most fraudulent election in world history. In that election he won with 234,000 voters in a country with 15,000 registered voters.
Sadly, exactly 88 years after this ugly incident, outgoing governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, is once again to be enlisted in the Guinness Book of Records as organizing the most bizarre and fraudulent election Nigeria has ever witnessed.
What is however, of interest to me and many other Nigeria political observers is what should be done to prevent a total breakdown of law and order, before and after the swearing –in of Udom Emmanuel of the PDP at the expense of Umana Okon Umana of the APC, who is actually the preferred candidate for the governorship seat in that state. That is, if the present fraud is ever allowed to stand. The political tension in most of the 31 Local Government areas of Akwa-Ibom state is palpable. I have just spent three post elections days in the state, the people are bitter and ready for a showdown. INEC leadership therefore, needs to take urgent steps to calm down and re-assure the people of justice. If Akpabio and his followers are allowed to get away with this barefaced and immodest act of electoral gang-starism, our hard fought democracy will be at risk and will surely be heading towards the rocks.
Although, the electoral crises in Imo State where elections were eventually declared inconclusive and that of Rivers States are similar to the recklessness perpetuated in the Akwa-Ibom, the Akwa-Ibom state experience, is a different kettle of fish. In Imo and Rivers states for example, there was a semblance of elections even though the process ended up being manipulated. In the case of Akwa-Ibom state, elections were never held. Armed thugs kitted with police uniform disrupted the entire process moving unchallenged throughout the period there was supposed to have been restriction of movements. Moving in buses ravaging local government areas and polling units in the state, in the process carting away electoral materials meant for the governorship and state house of assembly elections to specific destinations where they were thumb printed by PDP agents. There was not a single place I visited in almost all the L.G.A in Akwa-Ibom State, where the indigene’s were not bitter over Governor Akpabio and his supporters deliberate act of denying them of them of the right to exercise their civic right April 11, 2015. They have, therefore vowed, not to allow this act go unarrested, hence, my appeal to INEC to act now, before things go real ugly in the state.
What has however, become very clear, in this unfortunate incident, is the web of conspiracy between INEC official’s, the security operatives, made up of the police, the DSS alongside the army, in connivance with Governor Akpabio’s government to manipulate the electoral process. This dangerous act must been seen as a heinous crime that is equivalent to treasonable felony.
INEC Returning Officer in Akwa-Ibom State for the Governorship election, the State Resident Commissioner and top management officers, have a lot of explanations to make as to their individual and collective roles in subverting the electoral system in that state. They should be adequately punished, if found guilty, after they might have been made to face, due processes of the law. Such officers should henceforth, be barred from holding public offices, now and in the future, as a major step towards sanitizing the country’s electoral process.
My reasons for proposing this hard punishment, is not far to seek. For example, the Akwa-Ibom State Governorship and State House of Assembly elections, were supposed to have taken place on Saturday, April 11, 2015 alongside similar elections across the country.
Voting in these elections were supposed to be simultaneous and concluded at the same time. And in accordance with INEC Guide lines, the House of Assembly results were to be released at the LGA collation centres while the Governorship results although, also collated at the LGA collation centres, were to be transported and released at the state capital. As expected, these results should by law, have been released on the very day of elections at most the following day April, 12 2015.
But curiously, the Returning Officer for the State Governorship election in an apparent connivance with the Resident Electoral Commissioner and the outgoing government of in Akwa-Ibom state went ahead to announce the result of the gubernatorial election that was never held, in the process declaring Godwwill Akpbio’s candidate Udom Emmanuel as the winner of that fraudulent election. In view of the forgoing, the Returning Officer who is supposed to be an academic and respected member of the Nigerian society alongside the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, must provide answers to the following questions: If election truly took place in the 31 L.G.A. of the State on Saturday April, 11, why was the State Governorship election result released on Sunday, April 12, 2015 and it took five clear days for the results of the 26 members State House of Assembly to be released? What would these two high ranking officials say in response to the negative reports from the following bodies that monitored elections in the state? The European Union, United States Embassy Election Observers, the British High Commission observers in Nigeria and the Civil Societies Organization alongside INEC accredited Independent Observers, whose reports all indicted INEC conduct of the election in question. They were all unanimous in saying “that election did not hold in Akwa-Ibom State”. Where did INEC officials in the state get their results from in which they allocated results as follows, Udom Emmanuel of the PDP 996,071 while Umana Okon Umana of the APC 89,865 votes? National assignments as important as elections should never be trivialized or manipulated.
The heavy protest that immediately followed the announcement of the governorship result on Sunday, April 12, in Uyo the state capital and the tension that has since built up in most of the 31 L.G.A. is a pointer to the fact, that all is not well, no matter, the deliberate efforts by the Akpabio government to wish away the feelings of the Akwa-Ibom people, and their right to vote and install the governor of their dream in that state.
In view of this imminent danger, senior INEC official in Abuja, are expected to do the right, proper and sensible thing under this circumstances. They should immediately cancel the governorship and state house of assembly election in Akwa-Ibom state and call for a re-run. Anything, short of this would amount to proponing the dooms day.
There are lessons however, to be leant in this ugly development, as Nigerians patiently await INEC position in the Akwa-Ibom state governorship and House of Assembly fraud. People trusted with very sensitive national assignments need to be very very careful, no matter the inducement or temptation. They should also learn to toe the part of honour whenever the need arises. The March 28, 2015 presidential election was, perhaps, one of the most bitterly fought in the annals of Nigeria’s electoral history. It was possibly the most divisive election, drawing Nigerians into a devious web of mudslinging as well as ethnic and religious chauvinism. Eventually the election turned out to be largely a referendum on key national issues pertaining to the state of the country’s economy and security. This historic election was fought-and-won by Nigerians who appeared to have crucially determined to assert their position as the real employers of those in powers, and on whose behalf and on whose benefits power should only be exercised. It was quite gratifying that Goodluck Jonathan the incumbent President accepted the collected decision of Nigerians and conceded defeat. One therefore, is at a loss, as to the reason(s) why Godswill Akpabio who happens to be a close ally and one of the ‘right hand men’ of the outgoing President will not take a cue from his shining example and at least allow a free and fair election to hold in the state. He has had the real opportunity and privilege of governing for eight years. The outgoing governor’s reckless act of lawlessness must not be allowed to stand, for the sake of Nigeria and democracy.
E-mail: gabrielomonhinmin@yahoo.com
