By Alphonsus Nweze, Onitsha
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Ben Uzuegbu, has decried the adverse role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in managing election in Nigeria, warning politicians behind the coalition movement that the electoral body would frustrate their efforts.
He said that looking at the management of the last Bye-Election especially in Anambra State , it clearly showed that INEC has not learnt any lesson from what happened in 2023.
He said: “Now they have taken the electoral impunity to another level. There is no way any opposition party can ever win election the way INEC runs its election because what happened is that towards the election the Government in power opened up the treasury of the State”.
He said that those politicians forming coalition would try their best but INEC would still do what they were known for to frustrate them.
“The coalition will come together but INEC will scatter all their efforts.Even when they succeed, you will hear something like what you heard in 2023. There was a glitch and that is all. And they will go on at midnight to announce the result and once it is announced, it is all over” said Chief Uzuegbu.
He said there is no doubt the Coalition working under the platform of African Democratic Congress (ADC), would have a fighting chance if they collaborate: “but what I am saying is even after the that, INEC will still deliver the result to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). You don’t need to be a prophet to know that is what is going to happen”.
The Senior Advocate said that 2027 would be worse than 2023 in electoral fraud because it is still the same Electoral Act of 2022 that INEC would use for the 2027, which has been tried and it failed.
He said that the current National Assembly members are not doing anything to enact laws that would checkmate the mistakes they have identified in 2022 Electoral Law.
” No. they still depend on the same Electoral Law that was used in 2023 and the last Bye-election and it came to zero in terms of fairness, in terms of conduct of regular elections and the way election should be held” the Senior Advocate said.
Chief Uzuegbu said that INEC would rehash the impunity they committed in 2023, 2025 bye-election in addition to the ones they don’t know and bring them up in 2027 and amplify them.
“So, 2027 is even going to be worse and you see how politicians speak. The other one who says he is the Minister of Federal Capital Territory is sure that Bola Tinubu will return. He is sure that APC will return” said Chief Uzuegbu who stayed if a politician in a ruling party talks with such confidence and tells you to forget about the election, it is clear that the result of election in 2027 is already known to the ruling party.
“And whatever we are doing now is just to pretend as if we are doing something, nothing will happen” said the SAN.
Chief Uzuegbu said most Nigerians no longer go to vote because of apathy, following the knowledge that their votes would not eventually count.
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