Election: Yakubu, INEC Commissioners failed, betrayed Nigerians – Dode

Professor Robert Dode, of the Department of Political Science, Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, Delta State, has accused Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and his team of National Commissioners of compromising the results of the February 25 presidential election by deliberately refusing to upload the results at the Polling Units from the BVAS to the iREV.

Prof. Dode has also come to the defense of the former Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in-charge of Akwa Ibom State, Barrister Mike Igini, who some people have criticized that he deceived the public by assuring that with the new technology, the BVAS and the iREV as well as the new Electoral Act 2022, the elections will be free, fair, credible and transparent.

The university don in a statement at the weekend, told Nigerians to hold the INEC boss and his lieutenants responsible for the controversy that had trailed the outcome of the presidential election.

He said, “Since the completion of the February 25th presidential election, I have watched on various television stations views expressed by guests and many Nigerians who were disappointed over the refusal of the Professor Mahmood Yakubu led INEC to upload only presidential election results.

“An overwhelming number of Nigerians have continued to express appreciation to Barr. Mike lgini for his pre-election efforts at educating the public and in the process calling on all eligible voters to participate in the election as his battle cry, an advocacy that largely contributed to the trust and fidelity of voters in the Electoral process that INEC superintended and thus increased the public faith in the 2023 election. Still some sections of the public were disappointed and rightly so because those still at INEC failed to implement the process as Barr. Igini described with electoral consequences.

“But many forget that the advocacy and efforts the former INEC Commissioner provided while still in service and after the end of his tenure wherein he eloquently and convincingly advocated strongly for the benefits of the BVAS technology as a game changer was for the public good. Many objective citizens saw the utility of his efforts which he freely provided despite having completed his tenure.

“Nigerians are disappointed at the moment that the IREV that could have made a difference, if it was diligently and credibly deployed, failed or was deliberately made to fail because it was not used for the upload of the presidential election results from Polling Units as promised except for the Senatorial and House of Representatives elections respectively.

“As a result, a number of Nigerians are asking a very pertinent question but wrongly directed at a man who out of patriotism carried out a selfless education of Nigerians on the usefulness and intricacies of BVAS. Someone who, like other Nigerians obviously must be surprised at what happened.

“Mike Igini having completed his tenure at INEC must have been rudely shocked like most other Nigerians. It is also surprising that some people think that Mike Igini should explain what happened rather than the current implementers of BVAS and IREV at INEC that should be asked to explain why BVAS failed their expectations?”

Continuing, he said, “One must, therefore, ask if that is a fair demand on Mike lgini? Shouldn’t that important demand of explanation be rightly directed by Nigerians to Professor Mahmood Yakubu and his team of National Commissioners that failed and betrayed the nation? Should it be the same Barr. Mike Igini, the only lone voice that took a personal responsibility of giving massive education on the Electoral process that should be made accountable for the responsibility of the current INEC leadership?

“He must have declined consultancy from politicians just to maintain neutrality that he will rather consult for the Nigerian people. How many Nigerians will do that for public good? This man should be acknowledged and appreciated for his commitment to credible elections that he is known for over the years.

“This is particularly germane given that he freely and effectively provided the cogent and concise information on the electoral process even after leaving INEC, an advocacy and public enlightenment he offered weekly for over six months while the incumbents were feeding mixed messages to the public. How is it that he should be the one being called to explain why presidential results were not uploaded from the polling units?

Do we realize that this man’s tenure ended in August 2022 but he was only making contributions as a citizen in a very tireless manner? Is that a fair demand to make on him, while those responsible are still in office?

“On the BVAS, it is true that Barr. Mike Igini’s proven record of integrity and consistency energized and gave so much hope to Nigerians both home and in the Diaspora, many of whom returned to vote in the 25th February election.

“Let us be clear, BVAS did not fail, but what failed was the refusal or deliberate omission to use it as designed to transmit presidential results real-time from polling units. This Igini, we must recall is a patriotic Nigerian who has on several occasions refused being bought over by some powerful politicians, for the purpose of achieving their selfish political ambition, through vote rigging.

“Despite the tragedy of deliberate sabotage of upload of presidential election results from polling units, the use of the BVAS for the 2023 election will go down in history as one that a man called Barr. Mike Igini provided the needed public awareness and knowledge that it was possible for Nigerian voters to realize the power of the ballot to decide who should be their leaders when there are good electoral Laws that supported INEC innovations, processes and procedures.

“There is nothing he will say now that he has not said already by the 24th February, 2023 that he publicly declared was his last voters’ education engagement. In the course of that programme, he thanked the CEOs and management of Arise, AIT, Channels and TVC and wished the country a successful election.”

Prof. Dode said no matter what has happened that candidates will have to resolve in court, Igini in his advocacy to the public highlighted what the BVAS will do in the 2023 election.

Among them he recalled was that the BVAS and the IREV will be a game changer “and if we are true to ourselves, we saw this happen in the election. With the BVAS we all saw how accreditation process was sanitized, with limited inflation of voter figures.

“All voters had to show up and be captured; making it impossible for any single voter to vote twice and thus enthroned the universal principle of one-person-one vote.

“He said the statutory requirement under the 2022 Act sections 60, 64, and clause 38 of Regulations & Guidelines for mandatory polling units results real-time upload must be adhered to, but if not complied with, there will be consequences once polling units results duplicates form EC8A series had been issued to candidates’ agents and perhaps captured by voters, including Form EC60E at polling units.

“That indeed, is what will be used now for auditing and the inspection of election materials as ordered by the Presidential Election Appeal Tribunal.

Mike lgini said all that before the election. Is that a lie? Can’t we all see now that, the dispute from all political parties and their agents is not what happened at the polling units but how presidential polling units’ results were not uploaded and collated with evidence traceable?

“He warned us that no matter how good the laws and INEC innovations may be; they will require committed and credible people of integrity to make them work. As we can all see, the problem associated with the presidential election has been narrowed down to refusal or failure to apply good laws contained in the 2022 Electoral Act and the INEC guidelines that Professor Mahmood Yakubu and his team failed to implement.

“He told Nigerians that BVAS will retire many unpopular politicians because election will be won and lost at the polling units and that many will suffer the dinosaur experience and it is already happening.

“That vote buying will not have serious impact on the outcome of the election as votes will reflect the will of the people.

“Finally, Barr. Mike lgini told Nigerians that with BVAS, shock and lamentation await all politicians that rely on rigging because they will be swept away. Truly, BVAS is gradually making it impossible for the Senate to be a retirement chamber for serving outgoing Governors as many (80%) failed.

“In my view therefore, Igini has said all he needed to say but Professor Mahmood Yakubu and his team of National Commissioners compromised presidential election results by ignoring the law for reasons they should be explaining to Nigerians and not Barr. Mike Igini.

“Those who started the fraudulent manipulation of polling units’ results from Ward levels are now reporting themselves on the IREV Portal with uploaded results that are at variance with polling units’ results given to political party agents. He spoke about 25% FCT constitutional requirement objectively without any idea or having in mind candidates that cannot secure it. Just as he presented a table on Live television state by state computation of requirements to be declared a Governor two weeks ago and on the 24th February 2023 and not after the 25th February presidential election as some mischievous favour seeking individuals try to portray on social media.

“Surely, BVAS won and our votes can now count because there is a clear audit trail and a digital imprint of fraudulent alterations that will nail those celebrating victory at the tribunal. Now candidates and Independent external forensic auditors anywhere in the world can confirm what truly happened at the polling units by simply comparing them with what is now being uploaded as polling units results after several days that election was conducted with the original polling units copies with party agents.

“I urge everyone to come out again in their numbers, vote and protect the final vote counts of your polling units. If they do not count at INEC collation center, they will certainly count later at the tribunal.

“Finally, justices of the Supreme Court many of who are nearing the end of their career that will preside over the presidential election dispute and indeed all other election matters arising from the 2023 elections, should note that it is the future of their own children and grandchildren that they are being called upon to decide and secure. It is not about the petitioners but about what a credible election should be for there to be peace in Nigeria.”