Ben Ezechime, Enugu
A Chieftain of the Accord Party (AP) in Enugu State, Barrister John Nwobodo, has described Saturday’s Local Government Council election as a clueless exercise.
Nwobodo said this in a statement he raised in reaction to the election.
The statement is entitled “Enugu Elections 2024: a Wasteful Exercise by the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC).”
He said: “The Local Government Elections holding in Enugu today, 21st September, 2024 is one that is bedeviled with many invalidating factors, as it is riddled with a cacophony of complications and dereliction.
“It will be recalled that preparations for the elections began in October, 2023 with the publication on 17th October, 2023 of notice of election then scheduled for 24th February, 2024.
“The election date would later be rescheduled to 5th October, 2024, following the judgment of the High Court of Enugu State delivered on 1st December, 2023, in the case of Action Alliance v. Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission.
“Just as preparations got underway for the conduct of the election on 5th October, 2024 that the 17 Local Government Areas hatched a plan and sued Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission praying the High Court to compel the Commission to conduct Local Government Elections on or before 21st September, 2024.
“In what appeared to be an arranged litigation between the Plaintiffs (the LGAS) and the Defendant (ENSIEC), ENSIEC represented by the Attorney General of Enugu State filed a sham defence equivalent of not filing a defence and based on the porosity of the defence, the Court ordered ENSIEC to conduct local government elections on or before 21st September, 2024. With a speed of light and even.”
Nwobodo added that before obtaining the enrolled order or the judgment itself, ENSIEC the same day the judgment was delivered on 27th August, 2024 adjusted its previous timetable and guidelines and brought down the date of election from 5th October, 2024 to 21st October, 2024; thus, ENSIEC swung into action to conduct election within 25 days.
“The Commission can be described as clueless as they have manifested total lack of knowledge of election management including processes, procedure and laws governing election in Nigeria. In a sane society, the Government ought to have disbanded them. However, that would be an impossible expectation from a Government that actually constituted the Commission to do its bidding or the bidding of the ruling party.
“Any keen observer would agree that the Commission operates on the whims and caprices of its Chairman and Commissioners and not according to the dictates of law. Perhaps, this is why all the provisions of the law regarding procedure of elections were jettisoned and completely disregarded.
“No aspect of the election complied with the requirement of the law- a very troubling situation,” he said.
According to him: “From any angle one looks at it, the local government elections in Enugu State holding today is doomed from the start.
“From the failure to issue adequate notice of election in accordance with section 28 of the Electoral Act, 2022 to breach of the requirement of submission of list of candidates not later than 180 days to the date scheduled for election as provided in section 29 of the Electoral Act. Do we talk about providing just 14 days for campaigns against the 150 days provided for in section 94 of the Electoral Act or the failure to notice of polls as provided in section 44 of the Electoral Act.
“These are not just mere irregularity but fundamental breaches which goes to the root of the election. It is an unshakable position supported by judicial precedent established by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court that no valid election can be conducted unless the Electoral Commission concerned issued complete notice as provided in the law.
“These infractions constitute violation of section 150 of the Electoral Act which is to effect that any election conducted in breach of the procedures entrenched in the Act shall be invalid.”
The former AP gubernatorial candidate noted that since the present members of the ENSIEC resumed office, their activities have remained largely opaque.
“There has been absence of engagement with critical stakeholders as well as lack of communication with political parties.
“As it was customary and legal for political parties to be invited to witness receipt of and distribution of sensitive electoral materials, ENSIEC did not invite political parties to witness distribution of materials to Local Government Areas,” Nwobodo said.
The lawyer faulted the non-use of BVAS in the conduct of the election, saying that this automatically nullifies the election.
“ENSIEC has also failed to make categorical the post-election procedure regarding announcement of polling unit results and collation. This silence does not align to best practices,” he said.
Nwobodo said that the PDP-led government was just in a haste to conduct anyhow election so they would be able to access allocations due to the Local Government Areas from the federation account.
“Nevertheless, we are waiting for them at the other end; already Accord has instituted a lawsuit at the Federal High Court to restrain the Federal Government from releasing allocation to the local government areas of Enugu State on the basis of today’s election,” he said.
