Jega: RECs Flouted INEC’s Orders During 2023 Polls Because They Were Handpicked by President’s Friends

•Reiterates need to divest politicians of power to appoint chair, other INEC officials

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Erstwhile Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday argued that some Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) disobeyed lawful orders from the chairman of the body in the 2023 general elections because they were appointed by the president’s allies.

Speaking on Arise Television, THISDAY’s broadcast arm, the university lecturer insisted that Nigerian lawmakers must therefore review the extant mode of appointment of the chairman, commissioners and RECs of the organisation.

During the 2023 governorship elections, the Adamawa State REC, Yunusa Hudu-Ari, in what was described as a national embarrassment, sneaked into the state governorship collation centre to declare Senator Aishatu Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC)  winner of the governorship poll.

Even after the then President , Muhammadu Buhari, eventually approved his suspension, Yunusa-Ari said he had no regrets about announcing Binani winner of the April 15 governorship election in the state.

At the time he made the move, Yunusa-Ari neither had the power to announce the results of that election, which was the job of the Chief Returning Officer, nor had the election been completed when he made the announcement.

But Jega who conducted the 2015 elections, which saw the defeat of a sitting president for the first time, argued that INEC officials were not just allies of those who appointed them, but were usually not thoroughly vetted by the senate.

“When we look at the 2023 general elections, we know that some people in the corridors of power succeeded in getting resident electoral commissioners to be appointed, and regrettably, these commissioners were not thoroughly vetted and screened by the senate.

“And they ended up going to states where they disregarded lawful instructions from INEC. And we have seen irregularities largely because logically, they may be doing the bidding of those who are responsible for their appointment.

“I believe that moving forward, as we continue to reform the electoral process, it is very important, first of all, to have an independent, transparent process, independent of the presidency, for the appointment of chairman and commissioners.

“And once you are able to have very good people appointed into the commission, then there is no reason why they shouldn’t be the ones to hire and fire lower level administrative officers, particularly those in charge of the states.

“But the point I made is, clearly,  the two resident electoral commissioners who are very reckless and disregarded lawful orders, if you can do your investigation, you will find that it was a particular person very close to the president who made the nomination, because they were either his friends or his classmates or because they were actually workers in his company,” he stated.

He restated his call a few days ago that lawmakers must review the mode of appointment of INEC officials, but insisted that there was nowhere he made the comment that the 2023 elections were compromised.

He added: “A situation in which the person who appointed the chairman is also the same person who nominated or appointed the resident electoral commissioners brings indiscipline into the system and the lack of a clear line of authority.

“And that’s why we’ve seen all these problems. So to avoid this thing about the reality as well as the perception, that ‘he who pays the piper dictates the tune’, it is important to sanitise the process of appointing the chairman and commissioners, and then to allow the commission to now appoint resident electoral commissioners and also professionalise the staff of the commission.”

He further insisted that the provision of the law that forbids defection from one party to the other, should be strictly implemented even for governors and other elected politicians.

Besides, Jega admitted that for a long time, INEC hasn’t been able to get its logistics right, including the promise to transmit results electronically the last time , which did not work, especially during the presidential poll. However, he noted that there had been noticeable improvements in other areas.

He also advised INEC to properly investigate what happened during the last polls, which led to its inability to transmit results electronically and communicate same to the public, stressing that INEC’s public communication system must be sharp and prompt.

He explained that the failure of the iReV may not have been deliberate, stressing that even the best systems fail, despite massive preparations.