By Chimezie Godfrey
As part of effort to tackle the challenge of election violence in the country, the National Assembly has revealed plans to unbundle the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to enable it function more effectively in carrying out its mandate.
The Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matter, Hon. Adebayo Balogun said this on Tuesday in Abuja during a Round Table and Public Presentation of Policy Papers on Citizens’ Rights and Impact of Insecurity on Elections organized by The Electoral Hub in collaboration with the Open Society Foundation (OSF) Africa.
Balogun said the National Assembly would push up for a bill for the establishment of the electoral offenses commission and tribunal, that tackle issues that has to do with violence, vote buying and any act of offenses that happen before, during or after elections in the country.
He said,”We know there are a lot of things that we are working on but the one that actually relates to what we have here today is even unbundling INEC to remove the aspect that has to do with Electoral offenses, violences and to bring it on a separate agency. So we are pushing up for a bill for the establishment of the electoral offenses commission and tribunal, that will be able to focus on issues that got to do with violence and vote buying and any act of offenses that happen during the election during, before or after the election, that can influence the election.
“So we are working on that bill, because we believe that INEC is so overburdened with so much responsibilities.They should be able to concentrate on electoral matters. So let other areas be done by some other agencies.
“The issue of publicity, voters enlightenment can also be moved to the National orientation agency (NOA). So there are some things that we have to remove from INEC so that it will be more efficient, and then other agencies that are already existing, or that will be created will handle some of these offenses.
“So I think with the creation of the electoral offenses agency, they will be able to look at various areas that has to do with violence, it will be an agency that will encompass various security agencies being put together to sit down and see how they can fashion a way out to make sure they tackle most of these things.
“What we need is a professional body when we are talking about fighting security. Dealing with insecurity is a professional thing and INEC personnel is someone who should be saddled with electoral matters. So we should bring professionals in that field to look at it and come up with solutions so that they can be more efficient, so those are what we are looking at to put in our laws.”
On what needs to be done quickly to curb violence during the forthcoming off-cycle elections, he said,”Quick fix, what we can all do is for everybody to talk to his own family member in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo today. Let peace resign. That is the quickest fix that we can all do. Let everybody appeal to his own family member, everybody that are causing crisis belong to one family or the other. So let us all talk to our people.
“The INEC is doing its own already to ensure that they have a free and fair election. The police are there to ensure that they ensure peace in the land. But you know when it comes to human beings, we have many traits, even the person causing the crises might be shouting.
“So it is for every one of us to ensure that we know that the election into your office does not worth anybody’s blood. To win elections you do not have to sacrifice anybody, and the country is bigger than any one of us.”
Earlier, declaring the event open, former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega called for all hands to be on deck to totally eliminate violence in the conduct of the country’s elections.
“All efforts need to be focused in terms of what needs to be done in order to minimize drastically if not totally to eliminate violence in the conduct of our elections.
“We want all hands to be on deck and for us to continue to make progress from each election we conduct not to go back instead. We all should come out and ensure that this becomes a reality. We are hopeful that the National Assembly should take a look at all the submissions from all the paper presented and make reasonable recommendations for the electoral act amendment.
“It is obvious that our elections are bedeviled by insecurity caused by electoral violence. It is also noteworthy that insecurity and election violence is disruptive to social and economic strength of our society. The aim here is to cub or to eliminate during elections all forms of election intimidation and our resolutions should include those things that need to be done,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu represented by Mohammed Kuna, stated that the commission, is ready to adhere to every law promulgated to end election violence across Nigeria. “The commission is ready to welcome new innovations. The commission since inception, has always welcomed new discoveries, and initiative taken to introduce Bivas machine and PVCs.
In her welcome address, the convener of the round table, the Director, Electoral Hub, Princess Hamman-Obels, said that as a CSO, that its effort is to make recommendations to the National Assembly and INEC on the dangers of election violence and insecurity, and their impact on every Nigerian during elections.
“There is no doubt that election violence, pinges on the participation of everyone in an election. We are here to make these paper presentations and these becomes our recommendations so that it would help in conducting the off season elections coming up in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa states in Movember 11th. And subsequently forms part of the recommendation for the review of the Electoral act in Nigeria”.
Former INEC National Commissioner, prof Okechukwu Ibeanu, in his lead paper presentation, highlighted areas where the National Assembly should pay more attention to make amend. These key areas include. Election generated violence, election amplified violence, election sustaining violence and election structural violence. These he said are bi- products of poor voters education by the authority concerned.
