Politics
Maurice Iwu And The Clamour For His Sack
As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu released the political timetable for the 2011 general elections, pressures are mounting for his immediate removal as the as the electoral body’s chairman.
Members of civil societies, the organised labour movement and some opposition political parties especially the Action Congress and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) have called on the government to throw Iwu out of INEC. The clamour for the removal of Iwu as Nigeria’s chief electoral umpire began shortly after the 2007 general elections in which local and foreign observers in their findings and observations during the elections had indicted the INEC’s boss and the commission for the electoral lapses that characterised the elections. The conduct of the elections was widely criticised as falling below acceptable democratic standards.
Maurice Iwu was appointed to succeed Dr. Abel Guobadia as INEC chairman on June 2005. But soon after the appointment as INEC’s chairman, some politicians and civil society groups called for his immediate removal over his controversial statement that only foreign election observers not foreign monitors would be allowed during the 2007 general election.
Though, INEC said the election was credible, foreign observers disagreed, saying the election lacked any measure of credibility. Consequently, Iwu came under the hammer of the organised Labour movement, civil society and the opposition political parties for alleged bias in the conduct of the poll and non adherence to its guiding principles.
The commission and its helmsman have been accused of not showing enough transparency, integrity, credibility, impartiality and dedication in their relations with the various political stakeholders.
Going by the guiding principles of INEC, the commission shall be open, transparent, truthful and honest in dealing with the people of Nigeria and its political stakeholders. On credibility, INEC had promised to ensure that the people of Nigeria and the various political stakeholders will readily accept the commission actions and activities.
The INEC had also promised to create a level playing field for all political actors towards providing the highest quality election services to the people of Nigeria.
But these turned out to be Herculean tasks for INEC to achieve in Nigeria. No wonder therefore that as the preparation for another round of general elections comes 2011 gather momentum, the opposition towards the continuing INEC chairmanship of Iwu had become more intense with each day not passing without a call for Iwu’s removal.
Iwu is being adjudged as not competent enough to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the polity. There is also the allegations that INEC lacks the necessary integrity and credibility score sheet under Iwu leadership to conduct any credible elections in Nigeria.
The latest call for the sack of Iwu is coming from the leadership of the organised Labour Movement in Nigeria. The Nigeria Labour Congress had planned mass rally to sensitise and raise the consciousness of Nigerians that the incumbent INEC boss cannot organise an unbiased free and fair elections.
The organised Labour, civil society and the oppsition political parties believe that the only solution towards the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria is for the government to change Maurice Iwu and reform the Electoral System.
Recently, during INEC chairman’s visit to the leadership of the Senate, David Mark re-echoed the need for INEC under Iwu to improve in its performance. The Senate President’s comment on INEC, no doubt re-enforced the clamour for leadership change in the nation’s electoral body and the need for electoral reforms in accordance with international best practices.
While Maurice Iwu was leaking his wound from David Mark’s unsavoury remark on INEC, the organised Labour released another onslaught on Iwu. In a communiqué after the Nigeria Labour Congress National Executive Council meeting in Kaduna, the NLC called for the removal of the chairman of INEC. According to the communiqué, the call for change of leadership in INEC is necessitated by the onviction of the Labour movement that Iwu has overstayed his welcome in the commission which has led to his poor performance in the outings of INEC.
In a statement jointly signed by the NLC National President, Abdulwaheed Omar and secretary Comrade John Odah respectively, the organised Labour listed Iwu’s monumental failures in the conduct of the 2007 general elections, the re-run gubernatorial election in Ekii State and the February 6, 2010 Governorship election in Anambra State.
“The National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress is of the view that Iwu has inflicted enough damage on the electoral integrity of the nation that all patriots must work to have the INEC boss removed and prevented from presiding over the preparation for the next general elections,” the statement declared.
The NLC mandated its NEC to fix a date for the National Mass Action to drive home the Congress Point that Iwu msut go as INEC’s boss.
The NLC mandated its NEC to fix a date for the National mass action to drive home the congress point that Iwu must go as INEC’s boss.
The NLC leadership equally canvassed the urgent implementation of the report of the Justice Muhammadu Uwais Committee on Electoral Reforms and condemned the delay in the process by the National Assembly ahead of the 2011 elections.
Be that as it may, the primary concern of many Nigerians and the organised Labour is the need to re-constitute and re-organise the nation’s electoral body in accordance with the 1999 constitution and the Electoral Act to make the commission more efficient, proactive and responsive to the fundamental and structural challenges of Nigeria’s electoral process.
Meanwhile, the Action Congress (AC) believes that continuous involvement of Iwu in any process leading to the conduct of 2011 elections would endanger the march to a credible 2011 general elections which is the desire of Nigerians and the International Community.
According to the National Publicity secretary of AC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,” election rigging is not carried out only on election day. It is a culmination of a series of processes, including voters registration,” adding that a biased and incompetent electoral umpire should not be allowed to handle the registration process not to talk of the elections.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), agree that for Nigeria to have a very transparent electoral process in 2011, Iwu must be relieved of his job. The CNPP spokesman Osita Okechukwu said the removal of Iwu will re-build the confidence of Nigerians and the political stakeholders in the electoral processes come 2011 elections.
But the INEC’s boss, however, picked the gauntlet and fired back at his critics wondering why people would call for his removal after he had successfully conducted a free and fair elections in 2007.
According to Iwu, there is no perfect electoral process without imperfection, noting that lessons and mistakes are part of block building process in the march to efficient electoral system in Nigeria.
However, no chairman of Nigeria’s electoral body has gone with a clean slate. In each electoral outing, they had had their own peculiar controversy superintending over the conduct of an acceptable elections right from the period of Chief Esua to Chief Michael Ani, Justice Victor Ovie Whisky, Prof. Eme Awa, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, Prof Okon Uya, Chief Sumner Dagogo-Jack, Justice Fajuyitan Oluyemi, Justice Ephraim Akpata, Dr. Abel Guobadia and the incumbent Electoral Commission’s chairman, Maurice Iwu.
As Iwu first tenure gradually winds up in June 2010, political observers believe that getting a second term is dependent on the thinking of the Presidency.
Nigerians generally expect nothing short of transparent, and credible elections comes 2011 from and unbiased Electoral body.
Phillip-Wuwu Okparaji
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
In a timetable issued by its National Secretariat in Abuja and signed by the National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, the party said the activities were in line with provisions of its constitution guiding the election of party officials across all tiers.
According to the schedule, membership e-registration began on January 31 and ended on February 8, while notices of congresses were dispatched to state and Federal Capital Territory chapters on February 2.
Submission of nomination forms for ward and local government congresses closed on February 9, followed by screening and appeals between February 10 and February 14.
Ward congresses are fixed for February 18, with appeals the following day, while local government congresses will take place on February 21 and appeals on February 23.
At the state level, purchase of forms for state executive positions will run from February 22 to February 25, with screening set for February 27–28 and appeals from March 1–2. State congresses are scheduled for March 3, and appeals on March 4.
Activities leading to zonal congresses and the national convention include purchase and submission of forms between March 12 and March 16, inauguration of screening committees on March 23, and screening of aspirants on March 24. Zonal congresses across the six geo-political zones are slated for March 25, with appeals on March 26.
The party’s national convention will hold from March 27 to March 28.The APC also published fees for expression of interest and nomination forms across the different tiers.
At the ward level, expression of interest costs ?5,000, while nomination forms range from ?15,000 to ?20,000 depending on the position. For local government positions, nomination forms range from ?50,000 to ?100,000 after a ?10,000 expression-of-interest fee.
State executive positions attract ?50,000 for expression of interest, with nomination forms pegged at ?1 million for chairman and ?500,000 for other offices. Zonal offices require ?100,000 expression of interest and ?200,000 for nomination.
For national positions, the fees rise significantly, with expression of interest set at ?100,000. Nomination forms cost ?10 million for national chairman, ?7.5 million for deputy national chairmen and national secretary, ?5 million for other offices, and ?250,000 for National Executive Committee membership.
The party noted that female aspirants, youths and persons living with disabilities would pay only the expression-of-interest fee and 50 per cent of nomination costs. It also clarified that Ekiti, Osun, Rivers states and the FCT are excluded from ward, local government and state congresses, but will participate in electing delegates to the national convention.
Forms are to be completed online after payment verification, with payments directed to designated APC accounts at Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa.
The congress cycle is expected to determine new party leadership structures ahead of future electoral activities.
The Tide source reports that the committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, is making moves to reclaim the Wadata Plaza headquarters months after it was sealed following a violent clash between rival factions of the party.
Senior officers at the FCT Police Command told our source that while they had not received an official briefing, police personnel would be stationed at the secretariat and other key locations to maintain peace.
The Acting National Secretary of the Mohammed-led committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, announced last week that the secretariat would reopen for official activities on Monday (today).
He dismissed claims that ongoing litigation would prevent the reopening, saying, “There are no legal barriers preventing the caretaker committee from resuming work at the party’s headquarters.”
However, the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has fiercely rejected the reopening move, insisting that Sen. Anyanwu and his group remain expelled from the PDP and have no authority to act on its behalf.
Speaking with The Tide source, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, declared: “They are living in fool’s paradise. The worst form of deceit is self-deceit, where the person knows he is deceiving himself yet continues with gusto.
“Even INEC, which they claim has recognised them, has denied them. They are indulging in a roller coaster of self-deceit.”
Mr Ememobong further revealed that letters had been sent to both the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, stressing that the matter was still in court and warning against any attempt to “resort to self-help.”
“The case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members. They cannot resort to self-help until judgment is delivered,” he said.
He warned that reopening the secretariat would amount to contempt of court.
A senior officer at the FCT Police Command, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that officers would be deployed to the area to avert a repeat of the November 19 violence that led to the secretariat’s initial closure.
“The command would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else. Definitely, the police will have to be on the ground,” he said.
Another officer added, “There will definitely be men present at the secretariat, but I can’t say the number of police officers that would be deployed.”
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on whether officers would be deployed.
Asked to confirm whether the secretariat was initially sealed by police, she responded, “Yes,” but refused to say more about the current deployment plans.
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