The Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday raised the alarm that some politicians in Oyo State were mounting pressure on the commission to sell unclaimed 914,529 permanent voter cards in its custody to them.
The
commission said it was not giving in to such pressure aimed at rigging the
forthcoming polls because “INEC is determined to ensure that people’s votes
count in the free, fair and credible elections in 2019.”
Speaking on the
theme, “Online journalism and Media integrity in Nigeria,” Agboke declared that
some politicians, whose identities he did not disclose, approached the
commission to buy PVCs to rig the elections.
He stated, As far as we are concerned, PVCs are not for
sale.
REC assured residents of the state of smooth
elections devoid of crisis in 2019, stressing that no worker of the commission
would sell PVCs to any politician ahead of the 2019 elections. Agboke said,
“They are looking for PVCs to buy. They are looking for what is not available
because they know that these things are not available. This is the security
report at my disposal.
“Tell those who are looking for PVCs to
buy that there is none to buy in Oyo
State. I can assure you that no INEC employee will sell PVCs to any politician.
I can assure you that the process will be free and fair in Oyo State. “Those
who are looking for PVCs to buy, I won’t give you their names. I don’t have
their names, But that is the security report I got and the report did not
specify the party and the individuals that are involved. They want us to give
them PVCs but we can’t give it to them. They want to buy PVCs but there is none
to sell in Oyo State. Agboke urged journalists in the state to cooperate with
the commission in spreading accurate information to members of the public. He
said, “All of us are stakeholders. If you are in doubt, call INEC. More so, you
are online journalists, let us ensure that we have our facts correct. For me in
Oyo State, I have nothing to hide. We conducted the election in Eruwa and the
people that won, won.” He urged journalists to abide by the ethics of the
profession at all times.
The South-West Bureau Chief of The Nation
and an Associate Editor of the Nigerian Tribune newspapers, Mr Bisi Oladele,
and Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre respectively, urged journalists to always abide by the
rules and regulations guiding the profession in their day-to-day reportage. They
said online journalism had come to stay in Nigeria and admonished journalists
to distinguish themselves from ordinary writers considering the fact that
“almost everybody is a journalist with the advent of internet and smart
phones.” They agreed that one of the ways for the journalists “ to
differentiate themselves from ordinary writers was for them to cross-check
their facts, investigate their stories and be conscious of the existing laws of
the land.”
INEC
says 2019 polls won’t be delayed, meets ASUU Jan 4
INEC also on Thursday ruled out the
postponement of the 2019 general elections because of the dispute between the
Federal Government and members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The commission, however, said it had
scheduled a consultative meeting involving its Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu,
its national commissioners and ASUU leadership on January 4. In an interview
with The PUNCH in Abuja, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its
Information Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the meeting would
focus on the role and involvement of ASUU members in the 2019 general
elections. While expressing optimism that the strike would be called off before
the elections, Okoye said INEC would explore other alternatives, including the
use of vice-chancellors, professors and lecturers to serve as returning
officers and collation officers, “depending on the outcome of the commission’s
interaction with their leadership.”
“The same thing applies to the leadership
of the other unions in the different federal tertiary institutions that are on
strike or are threatening to go on strike,” Okoye added. Other alternatives, he
said, included exploring the possibility of using federal employees and
students of state tertiary institutions to make up for any shortfall. Okoye
said, “The chairman and national commissioners of INEC will on January 4, 2019
hold a consultative meeting with the leadership of ASUU. The meeting will focus
principally on the issue of the role and involvement of their members in the
2019 general elections. “The meeting will also explore the possibility of
ensuring that the students would be on campus during the elections. The
commission is confident that there will be a breakthrough during the meeting.
The commission is not involved in the negotiation between ASUU and the Federal
Government and may not stray into that area.
“The involvement of the commission is
limited to harvesting the rich academic resources in the various federal
tertiary institutions for the 2019 elections. The commission has relied on and
will continue to rely on staff and students of federal tertiary institutions
for its ad hoc staff requirements. “Elections and conduct require some
level of intellectual acumen. It is not an all-comers affair. The lecturers
and students are clustered in an institution and they can be reached in cases
of electoral malfeasance and election petitions. They have a better
understanding of the electoral process. “Some
of the vice-chancellors and lecturers have experience as some of them have
acted as returning officers and collation officers before. Some of the students
of federal tertiary institutions in Anambra, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Edo and other
places where the commission conducted off-season elections already have a store
of knowledge and experience and only need refresher courses on new and creative
innovations introduced by the commission.
“Furthermore, the corps members are fresh
from institutions of higher learning and are serving in communities, local
governments and states other than their own. They are not involved in the
‘local or domestic issues’ of the various states and may not be easily swayed
or influenced. Most of them have been patriotic and some paid the ultimate
price in serving their nation.”
When asked what INEC would do if ASUU failed to call off its strike, he
said, “The commission is confident that there will be a breakthrough or middle
ground that will enable the students and the lecturers to contribute their
quota during the 2019 elections. However, the vice-chancellors, professors and
the lecturers can still serve as returning officers and collation officers
during the pendency of the strike, depending on the outcome of the commission’s
interaction with their leadership. The same thing applies to the leadership of
the other unions in the different federal tertiary institutions that are on
strike or are threatening to go on strike.”
Strikes won’t force us to
delay elections – Electoral
body
Okoye also explained
that the commission would not postpone the 2019 general elections. He said,
“INEC will conduct the 2019 elections on the dates already communicated to the
Nigerian people. The strike by the different unions will not lead to the
postponement of elections. The commission will prefer to use the lecturers and
students in federal tertiary institutions for the conduct of elections but if
that fails, the commission will explore alternatives.”
We may mobilise ex-corpers with
election experience – Okoye
Okoye said, “The
commission has been updating the database of former corps members. Some of the corps
members served as presiding officers in previous elections. Some of them are
still unemployed and will readily be mobilised. The commission may also use its
online platform to mobilise the students wherever they are and train them in
the states where they are. “The commission may also explore the
possibility of using federal employees and students of state tertiary
institutions to make up for any shortfall. The commission is however confident
that the issues that led to the strike will soon be resolved or partially
resolved. We still appeal to the Federal Government and the unions to negotiate
in good faith in the overall interest of the nation.”
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