2019 Election: The Good, Bad and the Ugly

Election in Nigeria is more of a battle of fists, rather than a battle of wits. This may very well describe the 2019 general elections. It was one elections that came with more twist and turns that the average Nigerian was left wondering with many unanswered questions.

The polls which was scheduled to wind-up in three weeks, dragged on for more than six weeks for the major elections. Being the most competed for, this year’s elections have also attracted a lot of controversies.

Recall that President Buhari had also opened up the political space for the Nigerian youth ahead of the elections when he, on May 31, 2018, signed the Not too Young Bill into law. The Act lowers the qualification age for presidential aspirants from 40 to 35 years and that of aspirants to House of Representatives from 30 years to 25 years bringing it at par with the qualification age for councillorship positions, so did this affect the overall outcome of the elections in any way?

What about the sudden elections re-runs which has now become the new order of elections in Nigeria? The 2019 elections have indeed thrown up a lot of issues and questions in the air no doubt. And time will certainly provide answers for them even as we take another look at the elections again.

However, regardless of whatever we may say this election did have it positive negative and ugly side.

By Steve Aya

The Good

This election was unique in several ways. This was the sixth general election to be conducted in the Fourth Republic, and the first to be conducted by the APC, and also the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission. Although since Prof. Yakubu came into office in November 2015. He and his team have conducted 196 off-season governorship and other by-elections, this was the first big one for them.  Preparations started two years ago, precisely on March 9, 2017 with the announcement of the date for this year’s elections. Preparations started with the INEC Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021; thereafter, there were Election Management System, Election Project Plan and Elections Operations Support Centre. Going by our Nigerian way, one can safely say that this general election was the most planned.

 Besides, the election was also the costliest in Nigeria’s history. Officially, the Federal Government funded the elections with N242bn, N189bn went to INEC, while the remaining N53bn was shared by the security agencies for the purpose of election security.  This was outside the millions of dollars spent on the commission by the various international donor partners.

84 million Nigerians registered as voters, out of which 72 million voters collected their Permanent Voter Cards; 91 registered political parties; 119,973 Polling Units; 120 Accredited Domestic Observers and 36 Accredited Foreign Observers and 23,000 candidates competing for 1,558 positions. Seven elections were scheduled to be conducted over two Saturdays. They were Presidential, Senate, House of Representatives, state Houses of Assembly and governorship, as well as chairmanship and councillorship elections of the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory. This was the largest and therefore unprecedented in Nigeria’s electoral history. Giving the fact that so much was achieved during the 2015 general elections and with the level of preparations put in by the electoral body, pundits had hoped the 2019 elections will be a step above 2015 elections.  

The Bad

Election in Nigeria has always attracted a lot of controversies, being the most competed for; this year’s elections also came with its own bag of controversies. Right from October 7, 2018, when political parties rounded up their primaries, there have been over 640 court cases from aggrieved aspirants. The electoral commission was joined as defendants in all these pre-election cases. The outcome of some of these cases did affect the elections; since the judgment were landmark decisions as seen in the court depriving the ruling party at the centre the opportunity to contest all elections in Rivers state. While the dispute in Zamfara state over the party congresses held in May 2018 is still lingering in Court as we await the final decision on the matter by the Supreme Court.

The high number of cancelled votes in the 2019 general election due to either violence, over-voting or non-adherence to the use of Smart Card Readers was too alarming, considering the fact that billions of Naira was spend of things like voter education, security, repair and purchase of new Smart Card Readers The cancelled votes which are in millions brought about inconclusive governorship elections in Six States (Kano, Sokoto, Plateau, Adamawa, Benue State and Rivers). INEC initially enlisted Bauchi among the states before reversing itself after a careful review of the investigative panel it set up on the governorship election. Other elections declared inconclusive along with the Six inconclusive governorship elections are 24 House of Representatives election and three inconclusive Area Council chairmanship polls in the FCT. Supplementary elections in the Polling Units or areas where elections were cancelled in the affected states were held on Saturday, March 23, 2019 and other dates as announced by INEC. However, some of these elections witness tense situation and more violence even with the heavy presence of security men.

Something unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria’s electoral democracy happened when the Returning Officer for the Imo West senatorial election, Prof Innocent Ibeawuchi, alleged that he was forced to declare Governor Rochas Okorocha the winner of the poll by the supporters of the APC candidate. He was reportedly held hostage from 7pm on Sunday, February 24 till 11am on Monday, February 25. The don said because he feared for his life, he had to announce the result which he claimed was inconclusive, because of the alleged electoral fraud in eight LGAs. For allegedly making its Returning Officer to declare result under duress, INEC has withheld the Certificate of Return for Okorocha.  Where are the security agents meant to protect the Returning Officer and other INEC officials? But the Prof has demonstrated that what is said about electoral officers been bulled to declared results by politicians may very well be true after all. 

The 2019 elections have thrown up a lot of issues no doubt and one of such issues is TRUST. One thing the commission cannot take for granted is the appointment of credible and trustworthy people as Collation and Returning Officers. Recall that on March 11, 2019 INEC ordered the arrest of the Collation Officer for Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, Kelechi Ezirim, as well as the Electoral Officer for the LG, Chris Ogbuadu. They were handed over to the police for committing electoral fraud. They were discovered, many others may not have been caught.

The Ugly ;

This 2019 general election did leave a sore taste in the mouth of Nigerians because it may very well be the worst in Nigeria’s political history. It is already the most protracted, despite being the most expensive. The polls scheduled to wind-up in three weeks dragged on for more than six weeks.

Nigeria is the den of negative politicking. The misconducts that rendered the governorship elections inconclusive also made the supplementary elections held on 23 March not free, unfair and un-credible, especially in Kano State where desperate candidate’s unleashed thugs to kill and destroy, while the police looked on. The prevailing either-me-or-nobody politics is endangering our hard-earned democracy and may return Nigeria into the hands of the men in uniform or further confirm Nigeria as a den of negative politics according to some political pundits.

2019 general election has also been an intriguing one. Politicians who were before now seen as undefeatable were defeated. The mighty fell and new ones emerged. Godfathers such as Bukola Saraki (Kwara State) Godswill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom State), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto State) and George Akume (Benue State) were decimated. How are the mighty fallen, and their fall was simply a sign that Nigerians are not foolish and gullible as generally believed. Pundits are already of the view that 2022 may see the fall of remaining godfather.    

One of the unprecedented and ugly things that happened during this electioneering period of this election is the open anti-party activities of two All Progressives Congress governors. Governors Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, who defied the party that brought them to power by sponsoring and supporting opposition candidates against their own party candidates. While Okorocha preferred his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance, to succeed him, Amosun chose Abiodun Akinlade of the Allied People’s Movement. They encouraged their two anointed sons to defect from the APC to the Action Alliance and All Progressives Movement respectively. Meanwhile, the two governors did not defect with their adopted godsons but rather stayed put in the APC, contested and won elections into the Senate. Ahead of the March 9 governorship election, the APC leadership suspended the two governors while equally threatening them with expulsion but that did not stop them.

These elections have come and gone, the rippled effect will remain in the nation’s history as the gladiators move to the courts in another phase of seeking victory. As one pundit Mr. Victor Anya, puts it “the last have certainly not been heard on the 2019 elections because there is more controversies coming”.