25thApril, 2012
The Chairman
INEC Board of Electoral Institute
INEC Office
Abuja.
Sir,
The Vanguard editorial entitled: “INEC to Prosecute 1 m Voters” published on Monday, April,16, 2012 came as a rude shock to most Deltans who witnessed the worst elections ever conducted in the history of Delta State. The States concerned are Bauchi, Zamfara, Gombe and Bayelsa. If I may ask, where is Delta State? Delta State was not mentioned. This goes a long way to tell Nigerians and Deltans in particular that, INEC is not prepared to re-strategise and conduct a free and fair elections in Nigeria come 2015.
Delta State recorded the highest number of election tribunal cases in court after the general elections in 2011. These cases were all dismissed by the tribunal judges, saying that the cases lacked merit. The Electoral tribunal that was setup to handle cases of electoral offences in Delta State was a mere waste of time and tax payers money. All elections held in the state were highly fraudulent, not free, fair or credible.
The April, 9th2011 NASS Election held in Uvwie Local Government Area in Delta State was a night-mare. Thirty ballot boxes were snatched and taken away to an unknown destination. The boxes were returned to the secretariat at about 9.00pmto 10.00pm. Four INEC ballot boxes were burnt; the photographs were shown on Channel Television. There were serious mutilation of INEC results and double thumb printing. P.D.P thugs were heavily armed. They wore police and army uniforms. P.D.P’s thugs and agents signed INEC results on behalf of other party agents. Most statement of results were mutilated. The lives of the electorates were put at risk because they didn’t get the adequate security required to protect life. In Okpe local Government Area, pipeline military personnel were used to harass people at the INEC office in the morning of election day.
The results of the April 9th, 2011 NASS election was inconclusive due to electoral fraud, irregularities and other electoral malpractice. To my greatest surprise a re-run election was secretly arranged without informing me nor my party. The NASS re-run election was not announced in any of the media, [T.V or Newspaper]it was a stage-managed re-run election. I was unable to make adequate arrangement for my agents because of the very short notice and it was a public holiday – Easter Monday.
Even at there-run election, only eight units as against thirty units was covered. Similar incidence were equally recorded in Sapale and Okpe Local Government Areas respectively. Infact, INEC should prosecute the Electoral Officer [INEC] in Uvwie Local Government Area and the Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC in Asaba for electoral fraud and malpractice.
The governorship election was highly dramatic in a particular ward in Uvwie Local Government Area. In that ward, all INEC materials were destroyed. The electorates protested seriously against INEC officials corrupt dealings.Professor Jega needs to see the video clips of this protest as well as photographs of the burnt INEC ballot boxes.
It is true that the electoral tribunal cases were heard. But justice was denied especially to those of us who had evidence at our disposal. To the judges, you will be judged by a greater judge – Our Lord Jesus Christ on the last day.
INEC, you must not deceive yourself and the nation. If you fail to prosecute voters in Delta State,them forget the whole process. To those of you in offices who rigged the last elections,you can never perform well because you have nothing to offer. You stole other people’s mandate.
For INEC to win the confidence of Nigerians, they must be seen to be honest in all their dealings. They should start by prosecuting corrupt INEC officials. INEC must operate in their own offices and not in any Local Government Council Secretariat. Over the years we have raised the issue of re-locating INEC inside Uvwie Local Government Council Secretariat to a different location but to no avail. During elections, the Chairman who is the chief security officer of the Local Government use the opportunity of easy access to influence the collation of results. Meanwhile other party faithful were denied access into the secretariat.
Let our focus be on the total or general over hauling of the electoral system.
Dr. [Mrs.] Veronica .E. Ogbuagu [JP].
A Candidate - House of Representatives
[Okpe, Sapele & Uvwie Constituency] in the2011 Past
General Election Under the Flatform of the
Action Congress of Nigerian [ACN].
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