APC AND THEIR RIGGING ORCHESTRA : INEC AS THE WILLING TOOL

APC AND THEIR RIGGING ORCHESTRA : INEC AS THE WILLING TOOL

BY AGADA IKECHUKWU

Change remains one of the world’s most revered phenomenon. But while every new change spells good tidings for some, for others, it brings the worst of life’s vicissitudes. It is the wisdom of the crocodiles to shed tears when they would devour. But unlike the beast of the deep, INEC betray no bloody appetite like the crocodile, rather they sport insatiable craving for the love and attention of the government of the day.

They dance to the whims and caprices of the present government with reckless abandon. INEC left millions of Nigerians with mouths hanging open in unabashed incredulity during the Kano Local Government election. On that day, like cows going to the slaughter slab, some minors were captured on some viral pictures lined up exercising their premature civic responsibility. The denial and counter-denial by the electoral umpire over the development submitting scripts of oblivion and innocence and crying wolf claiming attempts to misrepresent them clearly signposts a written rigging partnership agreement between the Federal Government and the Electoral Body.

The taletelling by INEC that the Kano Local Government election was not their brainchild but that of the State Government is paradoxical; the more you look the less you see.

INEC whose name rang bell of integrity and have it emblazoned in the Guinness Space for their sterling performance during the 2015 general elections for superintending the conduct of credible elections facilitated by the non-partisan leadership of former President Goodluck Jonathan has now become a shadow of itself.

It is so unfortunate that the massive registration of school children below the gauge by INEC in the North especially Kano State is happening when many eligible voters in the South are visiting hell just to register. Nigerians are being demoralized by the tasking registration processes discouraging many from participating as getting PVC is herculean.

The experiences of Lagosians trying to get their PVC are better told than experienced and cannot be captured in one article. The centres are few, poorly staffed with outdated non-efficient machines in a densely populated environment making people to lose interest in the process while registration moves smoothly in the North especially Kano; the reason underage persons are being registered.

The few centres, unproductive machines and the tasking nature of the process in the South are deliberate rigging mechanism set in motion ahead of 2019 general elections to retain the present status quo of the Federal Government. It is aimed at given an edge to the ruling party in their areas of strength in order to weaken the oppositions and pave the way for a landslide victory that is non-disputable to avoid bye-elections and litigations.

The recent smart political ambush on INEC by the NASS was a counter-move to frustrate the rigging rain falling put in place by the memorandum of understanding signed between the Presidency and INEC. The NASS obviously deflated the balloon of the ruling party’s rigging machine by altering the sequence of the elections.

INEC and the Presidency were shocked over the anti-rigging attempts by the NASS and have mobilized foot soldiers to manage the situation which gave birth to the rowdy session at this week’s plenary making some Senators to storm out in protest after losing out of the cerebral political game.

The disenchanted Senators gave a press briefing in order to legitimize their walkout before Nigerians and pave the way for litigations that will mandate INEC to postponed the conduct of 2019 elections acting on the Presidential scripts.

It is high time INEC buckled down by ensuring that the sanctity of the electoral process is maintained to uphold free, fair and credible elections in 2019. Any attempts to disenfranchise Nigerians via the rigging machine will be counterproductive and might trigger a revolution of astronomical proportion.

GOD BLESS YOU