Politics
Checking Electoral Fraud Through Organised Actions
The truth is that we cannot have genuine democracy without electoral integrity and there can be no good governance, transparency and equity without genuine democracy. When people get into office fraudulently through riggings and all kinds of subversion of the will of the people they obviously cannot be expected to truly serve the people. They cannot reasonable be expected to address the wide spread poverty, unemployment and corruption in our country, Nigeria. Such persons can only be accountably to those who rigged them into power. The need for electoral integrity in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized.
All Nigerians without exception should be part of the struggle for effective electoral reforms in Nigeria including the deepening of internal democracy in the political parties and credible election, as it is central to the capacity of the country to jumpstart the economy and give hope to all of us not just to a few of us.
Electoral fraud and corruption in Nigeria is a seemingly formidable industry. It is an industry whose services to the nation include mass falsification of voting registers, mysterious stuffing of ballot boxes, use of some misguided youths as “hired political thugs” by wealthy candidates, to threaten, harass and intimidate voters as well as flagrant use of INEC and security officers to impose the will of a few godfathers on the rest of us.
Electoral fraud therefore is aimed at subverting the will of the people by denying them their voice in deciding who governs them. It is worse than military coup because it is not only imposes the will of the political godfathers on the rest of Nigeria but also is laden with deceit.
We must resist any attempt by anybody including INEC, self serving politicians, misguided youths and the security agencies to howsoever manipulate or rig the electons as well as discourage the popular believe that political office here in Nigeria is more of an access to massive oil wealth; a gateway to power and patronage, than service to the people. We must mobilize the market women, churches and mosques, communities, age grades, traders, civil servants, company workers, and indeed all Nigerians without exception to join the campaign and fight to ensure that our votes count.
We must ensure that the Justice Uwais-led Electoral Reform Panel Report is passed into law, we must ensure that only persons of integrity and demonstrable patriotic stand hold offices in INEC, we must enlighten and educate all Nigerians to join this project of ensuring that our voters counts, we must vote and protect our votes. We must also ensure that INEC do their job and that they do not deliberately refuse to do their job.
Each of us must rise up to the challenge and support the campaign for electoral reform. We must moblise all our friends, kinsmen, church members, colleagues, associates, neighbours, age grades and communities to resist the temptation to be used by anybody to rig howsoever the 2011 elections. I can proudly say that no person can successfully rig any election in Nieria and in Rivers State without the tacit and/or explicit support of Nigerians. We support them if we do nothing about the evil of electoral fraud which is the father of all evil. We support them when we do not challenge what they are doing or when we lie down resigned to fate.
As aptly captured in Ola Rotimi’s ‘The God are not to Blame’, to lie down resigned to fate is madness and Nigerians must stop this madness of aparthy, fear and refusal to fight for the good and progress of Nigeria. The truth is that evel, including electoral fraud, which is the father of all evil, benefits those who perpetrate it and therefore cannot be wished away in this world. It multiplies when people like us simply do nothing, and that is why as far as I am concerned, doing nothing in the presence or midst of evil is greater evil. This is because it simply feeds evil and encourages it to ‘prosper’.
If we must have a better society then we must resist evil, especially electoral fraud by deliberate and organised actions. We should therefore be more actively involved in the Nigerian project. I do not want to pretend that it is a tea party, but the truth is that it is the key to the good future we all expect and dream of and we cannot afford to fail.
Making our votes count is therefore the single most important reform that we urgently need in Nigeria, if we must make progress as a people and regain our place in the comity of nations. Without electoral reforms including deepening of internal democracy in the political parties and credible elections, we have No future in Nigeria!
Onuegbu is the chairman, Rivers State Council of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC).
Hyginus Onuegbu
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has appointed Nigerian music legend, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as TuFace, as his Technical Adviser on Entertainment and Community Outreach.
In a viral video on Wednesday, Governor Alia praised TuFace for all the support towards his administration.
The Governor stated that TuFace can do more.
He stated, “On behalf of the Benue State Government and our very good people, we want to give you some more responsibility plus the ones you have been doing because you have the capacity to do some more and help us chart a way forward to improve other people’s lives and to gain more from your wisdom and advice as well.
“So, I’m pleased to announce that we will make you a Technical Adviser to the Governor on Entertainment and Community Outreach.”
Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement was made following a closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba on Wednesday.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, confirmed the development in a telephone conversation with The Tide’s source.
Similarly, the defection of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was announced on Wednesday in Asaba by Senator James Manager, following a meeting that lasted over six hours at the Government House.
Senator Manager said all PDP members in the State, including the Governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, and all local government chairmen, had agreed to join the APC.
“We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat,” he said.
The decision to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) followed extensive consultations with political stakeholders and was made in the interest of Delta State’s long-term development.
Governor Oborevwori, who won the 2023 gubernatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was received by senior APC officials in what political analysts are already describing as a strategic realignment with far-reaching implications ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria has condemned the recent wave of killings in Plateau, Borno, Benue, Niger State and most recently, Kwara State, calling on the federal and state governments to take urgent steps to stem the tide.
Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Adebo Ogundoyin, stated this in a statement issued in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Rt Hon. Ogundoyin, who is the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, said the gruesome killings had led to tragic loss of lives, widespread displacement, and unimaginable trauma for thousands of Nigerians.
“We are alarmed by the escalating insecurity in the land and the seeming helplessness with which these attacks are met. The time for mere condemnation and rhetoric has passed; urgent and coordinated action is now required at all levels of government to end these bloodbaths and restore peace and order.
“While we acknowledge that defence and national security fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Government, we must stress that every level of government bears responsibility for the security and welfare of the people. State governors, in particular, must rise to the occasion and fully understand that governance is not limited to road construction and ceremonial functions. True governance is rooted in the protection of lives, the preservation of order, and the alleviation of suffering,” he said.
He called on state governments to complement the efforts of the Federal Government by making and enforcing enabling laws for community policing and other grassroots-driven security models.
According to him, States must develop proactive frameworks that integrate local intelligence, social support systems, and youth engagement in the fight against insecurity.
The conference also urged the Federal Government to meaningfully engage the citizenry and introduce bold, practical measures to cushion the hardship caused by its current economic policies.
“Millions of Nigerians are groaning under the weight of inflation, unemployment, and a cost-of-living crisis. It is imperative that relief initiatives—targeted, transparent, and impactful—are rolled out without delay. Dialogue, not distance, must define the relationship between the government and its people at this critical time.
“The Conference of Speakers affirms its commitment to supporting all legislative actions necessary to restore security, promote justice, and foster inclusive governance across the country. The killings in Benue, Niger, Plateau, Borno, Kwara, and any part of Nigeria must not be allowed to continue unchecked. Justice must prevail, and peace must be restored.
“Let it be known: the safety, dignity, and well-being of every Nigerian must remain the top priority of all arms and levels of government,” Rt Hon. Ogundoyin said.