Ghanaian Migrants Information Services - Police berate INEC, say ‘emulate Ghana Electoral Commission’

The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday come down hard on the Independent National Electoral Commission, asking it to emulate Ghana on how to conduct free and fair elections.

But in a swift reaction, the electoral body said it should not be blamed for electoral woes bedevilling the country.

The altercation between the two organs of government came at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, where the leadership of the Force met with INEC officials.

The meeting was to deliberate on how the February 6 governorship election in Anambra State would be free and fair.

The Police had said that it would be better for the electoral body to learn from the Ghana Electoral Commission on how to conduct an acceptable election, but INEC said the blame should be on the general uncompromising win-at-all-costs attitude of the Nigerian politicians.

The police team at the occasion included Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, Israel Ajao and Uba Ringim, who represented the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo.

The INEC team was led by its three national commissioners, Mr. Victor Chukwuani (Legal); Philip Umeadi (Information and Publicity) and Deji Soyebi (Operations).

Also with the INEC team was INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra State, Mr. Josiah Uwazuruonye.

The police team told the INEC officials that they would do everything within their power to ensure that the election was free and fair.

The officers also said that both teams must agree on who should order the arrest of persons suspected to have committed electoral fraud.

The Police insisted that one of the major hindrances militating against free and fair election was the non-empowerment of the police by the Electoral Act to arrest electoral offenders.

Ajao said the only option to credible election was to follow the transparency of the Ghanaian model.

He said, “Let us emulate Ghana. They have smaller population, they are smaller in size but it is shameful that they can conduct successful election free of malpractices than us. Our elections are always flawed and this is not good at all.

“This time, we are working and I can assure you that no blame will be heaped on the police and that is why we have called you here to dialogue on how to achieve a credible election because nothing short of that is acceptable.

“We have fully mobilised our men, we are currently training them on their duties at election, we shall ensure that everything that is required of us is provided so that we are not blamed at all.

“Perhaps, the Civil Defence, few personnel of other security agencies and the military would be involved but we want to prove that we shall not allow anything untoward to happen.”

Ringim, who stood in for Onovo, said the police had met with the politicians and the leaders of their political parties to warn them of dire consequences should they engage in electoral malpractices.

He said, “Politicians might be the cause of the envisaged problem, but we are usually blamed and this must stop and the only way to do this is to look ourselves in the eye and know why it happens.

“We have said that 24 hours to the election day, nobody comes in or goes out of Anambra State. We shall enforce partial movement of people on that day. It is not proper that after we have done all these things, electoral materials will still arrive late at polling stations or there will be inadequate security at the stations.

“We must ensure that we constantly engage the key actors in dialogue and find out what they do at all times.

All the INEC officials, however, exonerated the commission from electoral malpractices.

Chukwuani said the violent nature of Nigerians might make it impossible for the commission to have an election like Ghana’s.

He said, “I was in Ghana during their election and there they did not have a single ‘Maiguard’, not a single security personnel at the offices of their electoral commission during the election day and days before that. Can that happen in Nigeria?

“In Ghana, we did not have a single policeman. Can that happen in Nigeria? In Ghana in some places, you see fire service personnel with baton only securing a whole lot of electoral materials, can that happen in Nigeria?

“In Namibia, where I also monitored election, election took place two consecutive days with the material left at the polling stations after the first day of ballot. Can anybody try that in this country? It can’t happen and this is the major difference.”

Umeadi and Uwazuruonye, who agreed with Chukwuani’s submission, noted that attitudinal problem remained Nigerians’ greatest bane. “We can’t effectively change all that now but we need to set the steps right and identify areas of collaboration.”

Both teams later met behind closed door.

Source: The Punch