2019 ELECTIONS MAY NOT HOLD-PROF. CHIDI ODINKALU

With 2019 elections less than two
and half years away, a former
chairman of the National Human
Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu,
on Wednesday raised the alarm
over the level of preparation for
the poll.
Mr. Odinkalu, who was speaking in
Abuja at a town hall meeting and
presentation of the findings of a
post- 2015 elections research
conducted by ActionAid Nigeria,
said going ahead without proper
preparation may result in crisis
and deaths.
Although he acknowledged that the
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) recorded some
gains in 2015 elections, Mr.
Odinkalu said 2019 may be
different.
“Today, the executive has gone into
lax mode; judiciary has become
lawless; National Assembly is
lacking in credibility; INEC is
troubled; politicians have gone
unruly. Government says it has no
money to run the economy. Every
element that made 2015 is
currently missing,” he said.
“There is absolutely no reason why
the executive should allow the
number of vacancies we have in
INEC to be. By next month, INEC
will have 28 vacancies among RECs
(Resident Electoral Commissioners)
and seven commissioners. The
Executive is carrying on as if this
normal. It isn’t.
“Citizens are carrying on like: ‘We
will tweet it on social media’. We
should do more than that, because
our country is at stake. The way we
are carrying on, 2015 is history;
2019 may not happen, if we don’t
reset. We‘ve got to take our country
very seriously. There will be no
elections in 2019.
“I’m sorry to sound alarmist. But,
continuing the way we are going,
we will not be able to have
elections in 2019. If it happens,
there would be too many broken
heads and dead people.”
Lamenting the role of the judiciary,
Mr. Odinkalu, a lawyer, frowned at
the corruption in the profession,
particularly on recent rulings on
electoral cases in the country.
“The judiciary has gone rogue and
destroyed everything that was
supposed to guarantee fairness in
the 2015 elections,” he said. “Judges
are speaking from too many sides
of their mouth. There are no
underlying principles.
“Judges come out with decisions
they know are manifestly bought,
and the profession is saying
nothing. Citizens are behaving like
it is normal for 20 judges to come
out with 20 different orders on the
same subject matter from different
parts of the country.
“The jurisprudence on the PVC is
irresponsible. When a country
appropriates for a measure, and
has it backed by law and voted for
by the citizens, the judiciary cannot
outlaw it the way the judiciary
dealt with the PVC (permanent
voters card). The judiciary reacted
to the PVC in a way that effectively
licensed electoral violence,” he
said.
The executive director, Policy &
Legal Advocacy Center, Clement
Nwankwo, in his presentation,
agreed with Mr. Odinkalu,
expressing sadness at the existing
vacancies in INEC.
He said the issue should be
addressed as a national emergency
situation to avoid fears expressed
about crisis in 2019 elections
becoming a reality.
“It is totally unacceptable that we
we do not have a full complement
of members of the electoral
commission less than two and a
half years to a national election. If
those who hold the reins of
leadership in the country today do
not act as urgently as in emergency
situation, we will lose this
democracy,” he said.
He emphasized the need to re-
engineer the electoral process to get
citizens to be active participants in
electoral process in 2019.
Country Director, ActionAid
Nigeria, Ojobo Atuluku, said the
organisation’s concern about
citizens’ participation in the
electoral process informed the
decision to undertake the project
on “Strengthening Citizens
Engagement in Electoral Process, to
deepen its work..
Mrs. Atuluku said the project
allowed ActionAid to work with 180
communities across 10 states, to
mobilise citizens to understand and
engage the electoral system.
She said the findings from the
research would help document
citizens’ experiences across the
country on the elections, to help
shape the agenda for reforming the
electoral process for improved
citizens’ participation in future.
With 2019 elections less than two
and half years away, a former
chairman of the National Human
Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu,
on Wednesday raised the alarm
over the level of preparation for
the poll.
Mr. Odinkalu, who was speaking in
Abuja at a town hall meeting and
presentation of the findings of a
post- 2015 elections research
conducted by ActionAid Nigeria,
said going ahead without proper
preparation may result in crisis
and deaths.
Although he acknowledged that the
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) recorded some
gains in 2015 elections, Mr.
Odinkalu said 2019 may be
different.
“Today, the executive has gone into
lax mode; judiciary has become
lawless; National Assembly is
lacking in credibility; INEC is
troubled; politicians have gone
unruly. Government says it has no
money to run the economy. Every
element that made 2015 is
currently missing,” he said.
“There is absolutely no reason why
the executive should allow the
number of vacancies we have in
INEC to be. By next month, INEC
will have 28 vacancies among RECs
(Resident Electoral Commissioners)
and seven commissioners. The
Executive is carrying on as if this
normal. It isn’t.
“Citizens are carrying on like: ‘We
will tweet it on social media’. We
should do more than that, because
our country is at stake. The way we
are carrying on, 2015 is history;
2019 may not happen, if we don’t
reset. We‘ve got to take our country
very seriously. There will be no
elections in 2019.
“I’m sorry to sound alarmist. But,
continuing the way we are going,
we will not be able to have
elections in 2019. If it happens,
there would be too many broken
heads and dead people.”
Lamenting the role of the judiciary,
Mr. Odinkalu, a lawyer, frowned at
the corruption in the profession,
particularly on recent rulings on
electoral cases in the country.
“The judiciary has gone rogue and
destroyed everything that was
supposed to guarantee fairness in
the 2015 elections,” he said. “Judges
are speaking from too many sides
of their mouth. There are no
underlying principles.
“Judges come out with decisions
they know are manifestly bought,
and the profession is saying
nothing. Citizens are behaving like
it is normal for 20 judges to come
out with 20 different orders on the
same subject matter from different
parts of the country.
“The jurisprudence on the PVC is
irresponsible. When a country
appropriates for a measure, and
has it backed by law and voted for
by the citizens, the judiciary cannot
outlaw it the way the judiciary
dealt with the PVC (permanent
voters card). The judiciary reacted
to the PVC in a way that effectively
licensed electoral violence,” he
said.
The executive director, Policy &
Legal Advocacy Center, Clement
Nwankwo, in his presentation,
agreed with Mr. Odinkalu,
expressing sadness at the existing
vacancies in INEC.
He said the issue should be
addressed as a national emergency
situation to avoid fears expressed
about crisis in 2019 elections
becoming a reality.
“It is totally unacceptable that we
we do not have a full complement
of members of the electoral
commission less than two and a
half years to a national election. If
those who hold the reins of
leadership in the country today do
not act as urgently as in emergency
situation, we will lose this
democracy,” he said.
He emphasized the need to re-
engineer the electoral process to get
citizens to be active participants in
electoral process in 2019.
Country Director, ActionAid
Nigeria, Ojobo Atuluku, said the
organisation’s concern about
citizens’ participation in the
electoral process informed the
decision to undertake the project
on “Strengthening Citizens
Engagement in Electoral Process, to
deepen its work..
Mrs. Atuluku said the project
allowed ActionAid to work with 180
communities across 10 states, to
mobilise citizens to understand and
engage the electoral system.
She said the findings from the
research would help document
citizens’ experiences across the
country on the elections, to help
shape the agenda for reforming the
electoral process.


Source :naijaloaded
Edited by DANIEL IKECHUKWU EKWUNIFE