Prof Manhood Yakubu, INEC Chairman
Democracy is decent and still the most universally accepted form of government.
Democracy is defined and conceptualized by periodic free and fair election and the principle of the Rule of Law.The highest achievement of any democratic government is the sustenance of free and fair election and the Rule of Law.
As a researcher and a teacher of politics,l always listen to the beautiful speeches of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission,( INEC).I equally analysed his recent rhetoric on the preparation of INEC for the conduct of governorship election in Bayelsa,Imo and Kogi State in November 2023.
The beautiful speeches of INEC Chairman,Professor Mahmood Yakubu in relationship to the conduct of the House of Representatives election in my Constituency,( Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency in Edo State), in February 25th,2023 will reveal the deceits and emptiness in his speeches.
I am not oblivious of the efforts to reforms and innovation to enhance transparency in the conduct of election under the leadership of Mahmood Yakubu.I have equally commended such program for the conduct of credible election in Nigeria.
INEC officials can make mistake or fall into error in the process of conducting elections.When grievous error, or deliberate crime by INEC officials is brought to the attention of the Chairman of INEC ,and have the power under the electoral laws to correct such error, and refused to correct the error,he is culpable for such criminal enterprise by INEC officials to subvert democracy in Nigeria.
INEC, Mahmood Yakubu And The Shameful Conduct of Election For Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode Federal Constituency in Edo State.
The presidential and the national Assembly election was conducted in Nigeria on the 25th of February,2023.The House of Representatives election for Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode Federal Constituency was equally conducted on the same day but was declared inconclusive because election was not held in two(2) out of the twenty two ( 22) wards in the Constituency.
The results from all the polling units and the entire ten( 10) wards of Uhunmwode Local Government Area were collated.
However, INEC collation officer for Uhunmwode Local Government Area,Professor Joel Egwaile of the department of Electrical Engineering, University of Benin,by error or deliberate crime omitted 2414 votes of Murphy Imasuen,the Labour party candidate during the process of transferring votes scored from Ward 06 results sheet to the Local Government Area results sheet.
This omission was noticed by the Labour party candidate and was reported in a written letter to Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner,( REC) ,on Sunday,26th February,2023.
The Edo State REC assured the LP candidate that the omission will be corrected in the final collation at the supplementary election.The supplementary election was held on the 15th of April,2023,INEC refused to add the 2414 votes of LP that was excluded and proceeded to announce the loser of the election,the APC candidate as the winner of the election.
Under the electoral laws, the INEC Chairman have power to correct false declaration of result within seven(7) days.Professor Mahmood Yakubu,INEC Chairman received the petition of false declaration of result in Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency within the seven days as permitted by the electoral laws.
He refused to correct the criminal conduct by INEC officials in Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency.”Go to Court”,the common language,frequently used to deride the integrity of the Judiciary in Nigeria was the word from INEC.
Go To Court And Election Petition For Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode Federal Constituency in Edo State.
Labour party candidate, Murphy Paul Imasuen approached the Election Petition Tribunal in Edo State after the show of shame by the leadership of INEC.His petition was assigned to panel 1 in the tribunal.
Murphy Imasuen case was simple and many expected that it will be a matter of one or two weeks for the tribunal to decide.Murphy Imasuen was simply asking the tribunal to correct the arithmetic error by a Professor of Electrical Engineering in the omission of LP 2414 votes during the process of the transfer of the votes scored by LP in ward (06) of Uhunmwode Local Government Area , to the local government Area results sheet,or in the alternative,direct the addition of INEC results for each political party from all the polling units.
This was similar to the House of Assembly election petition for Ovia South West Constituency in Edo State.The panel 2 in Edo State election Petition tribunal directed the actual computation of the results from the polling units and arrived at a judgement for the winner of the election.
INEC used a maximum of twenty four ( 24) hours to compute the election results from Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency.The election petition tribunal in Edo State,( panel 1) spend about 6 months and was unable to compute INEC polling units results, certified by INEC and presented to the tribunal to ascertain whether there was actually an error in the computation of the results.
The judgment of the election petitions tribunal ,( panel 1) in Edo State,for Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency,( House of Representatives)is a classical case of threat to democracy and the Rule of Law in Nigeria.INEC was a disgrace, and it is unfortunate for Judiciary to endorse the criminal conduct of INEC officials.
The sad story of the rationalization of the tribunal in affirming the criminal conduct of INEC should worry any Nigerian that is interested in the survival of democracy and the supremacy of the rule of law in Nigeria.
All decent and civilized people crave for democracy and the rule of law.Iam curious and disappointed with the rationalization of the judges:
1.That Murphy Paul Imasuen was not the candidate of the Labour party,did not participate in the election process and have no locus to come to the election petitions tribunal.The inference is that it does not matter whether the LP or Murphy Imasuen won the election.It will be necessary to subject this assertion of the judges to an interrogation:
a.
Are there still judges in Nigeria, lawyers,law teachers and law students, public affairs analyst, intelligent people, etc, that are not aware of several cases that have been decided by the court of Appeal and the supreme court that the nomination of a political party candidate is an internal affair of the party,a pre- election matter and the election petitions tribunals lack the jurisdiction to entertain such matter.
In the case of LP presidential candidate,Peter Obi vs President Ahmed Tinubu, the court of Appeal in their judgment said,”no matter how painful,or bad the the conduct of party primaries in the choice of the candidate, no other person from outside the political party can interfere or question the conduct of such primaries or nomination of candidates.
At best ,an outsider can only stand at a distance and watch.”Those that challenged the LP candidacy of Murphy Imasuen in the election petitions tribunal were outsiders, and not Labour party or members of Labour party.
b.Murphy Paul Imasuen was elected in the Labour party primaries as the candidate of LP for Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency.
The former national chairman of Labour party, Julius Abure disgracefully conspired with others to unlawfully substitute Murphy Imasuen with Elizabeth Ativie.Murphy Imasuen approached the court to seek redress.On the 20th of February,2023 the Federal High Court sitting in Benin, delivered the judgment that Murphy Imasuen was the candidate of LP for Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency.INEC was a party to the matter and responded with facts that they monitored the LP primaries and Murphy Imasuen was the elected candidate.
Julius Abure and his gang appealed against the judgment of the federal High Court.The court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the federal High Court and affirmed that Murphy Imasuen was the candidate of LP.Julius Abure and his gang went on appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed Murphy Imasuen as the candidate of LP.
(Interesting Notes And Jokes From Edo State Election Petition Tribunal,( panel 1):
Murphy Imasuen was nominated as the candidate of LP and the federal High Court gave judgment on the 20th of February that he was the candidate of LP.The election was held on the 25th of February,2023.
The Judges in their wisdom said Murphy Imasuen was not the candidate of the party and that he didn’t participate in the election process, and have no locus to come to the tribunal.
The court of Appeal and Supreme Court upheld the judgment of the federal High Court and affirmed Murphy Imasuen as the candidate of LP in the pre- election matter.The judges in Edo State Election Petition tribunal,( panel 1) in their wisdom,sat and dismissed the judgments of the court of Appeal and the supreme court and held that Murphy Imasuen was not the candidate of the LP and have no locus to come to the tribunal.
Where does election petition tribunal derive it’s jurisdiction to re-open for litigation a matter that have been decided by the court of Appeal and the supreme court?
2.Another curious rationalization of the Edo State Election Petition tribunal,( panel 1) and the refusal of the judges to direct actual computation of the election results was based on the premise that the petitioner, the LP candidate, Murphy Imasuen did not invite witnesses from the polling units to testify to the authenticity of the results.
Let it be clearly and loudly noted that Murphy Imasuen did not dispute INEC results from the polling units.Murphy Imasuen accepted ALL the INEC results from the polling units and he did not need witnesses to testify for or against INEC results that he was not in conflict with.
He requested and paid for INEC certification of the results and the electronic version of the results still available at the INEC IREV portal.All the results from the polling units were certified by INEC, including the IREV portal were presented to the tribunal.
INEC is the owner of the results and it’s representative/ witness in the tribunal testified to the authenticity of the results.Murphy Imasuen prayers was for the tribunal to direct the inclusion of the 2414 LP votes that was criminally excluded from the final collation of LP votes,or direct the computation of INEC results from all the polling units in order to ascertain the actual winner of the election.
How can one describe the conduct of the judges in Edo State Election Petition tribunal,(panel 1)? Judicial ignorance,or Judicial rascality,or deliberate act of threat to democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria.
It is true that there are still upright and courageous Judges in the Nigeria Judiciary.Every right thinking Nigerian should worry about any conduct that will threaten the survival of democracy and rule of law in Nigeria.
The starting point for meaningful and a responsible future for Nigeria is a comprehensive reforms of the structure of INEC and Judiciary in Nigeria.These institutions are important to the development and survival of Nigeria.
The mode of appointment, finance, discipline,promotion,etc, must be insulated from partisan influence and other platforms for corruption.Retainig and continuous circulation of known corrupt public servants in our public institution is a danger to everyone,if not now, but in the future.
I believe in the political awareness and patriotism of Nigerians.I have my tremendous respect for the men and women in INEC and in the Judiciary still standing to uphold the natural laws of truth .
It is truth that will set us free,set our family free,set our nation free and guarantee a better tomorrow for all.The case of Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode federal Constituency is not about Murphy Imasuen,or about me,it is about the threat to democracy and rule of law in Nigeria.
Dr.Isaiah Osifo is a
University Teacher And a Public Policy Consultant.
Email -isaiahosifo@gmail.com
