It is our observation at Intersociety that the all-important Anambra Governorship Poll is here for real. We also observe that except the “perfect crime” that led to “perfect killing” of about 28 citizens at the Uke Catholic Church Adoration Vigil, propelled by politically oiled intervening forces; Anambra’s pre poll season is the best in Nigeria.
The State’s great
transformation from its notoriety in the modern world map of poll rigging and
rascality governance to Nigeria’s center of excellence in matters of free,
non-violent and popular poll and its transformative socio-economic governance;
makes it a qualified candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize Award. Popular poll
institutes popular and powerful government, which leads to mass and massive
development. In other words, another name for popular poll propelled government
is “development”.
However, this priceless
feat is under serious threat in the State. This is because the puppets,
puppeteers and their grand masters of the Anambra’s disastrous past, have
staged a fierce come back. This time around, they have found strong allies in
the western part of the country, which dry quest for expansionist conquest is
never hidden. While the sole interest of the grand masters under reference is
“turning Anambra State into business enterprise”, those of their former puppets
are negative political power, immorality in public shrine (government house)
and “treaty of cession” with the west. In other words, it is “give us Anambra
and Igbo land and we will give you the governorship seat”
deal.
Those who “bought”
Anambra governorship seat from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in April 2003 and handed
it over to Mr. Chris Ngige under stiff conditions are back. More “ Anambra
governorship oil block” bidders have also joined. The other day, it was one of
them that chased around three security chiefs designated for this crucial poll
with a whopping sum of N300M (N100M each) so as to compromise the poll day
security in favor of his party. Other field instructions such as “deliver your
ward and get an instant sum of N7M.” have been given by some of the said
Anambra governorship oil block bidders.
Generally in this poll’s
electioneering, we have seen clear acts of desperation on the part of political
parties and their candidates. All manner of unconventional methods grounded in
political guerrilla tactics were deployed. Among the top contestants are
academic touts and morallyl rotten eggs. Some dropped at JSS3 and padded up the
constitutional educational basic requirement of “West African School
Certificate or its equivalents”. Others crashed academically from top to bottom
by reaching final year before crashing to O’ Level. Modern public governance,
especially gubernatorial governance is like asking somebody with a junior
secondary certificate with primary “social studies” background to come and
teach “economics” in the university. Those with these “not less than” academic
certificates are “graduates” of “JSS Social Studies” wanting to teach
“economics in the university”.
Among the top contenders
are “morally rotten eggs”. Some are padded and canonized by the Southwest
media. In governance of Anambra State, the stock in trade of “a rotten egg”
governor is governance rested in borrowings and statutory receipts only. His or
her morally rotten eggness will be a boarding pass off international
development funding institutions and “beyond the border resources mobilization”
will be grounded to zero. Other core attributes of his or her governance are
showbiz or “owambe” governance as well as propaganda and populist governance
(government by media and sightseeing).
Though democracy demands
that even if people choose a goat to govern them, so be it; but it also allows
room for the voters to be properly guided so as to make a right choice. Our
proactive engagement in the electoral process under reference, especially the
pre-election aspect, is well grounded and pronounced. In the course of this,
most of the sharp practices of some front line political parties and their
candidates were extensively exposed and brought to public notice. The quality
of some front-line candidates picked by some political parties is shockingly
disappointing. They are nothing but termites. This political candidates’ choice
blunder has, again, opened a room for the agitation for a constitutional or
legal provision for independent candidacy on the polity.
Following from the
recent field assessment of methods of campaigns deployed by the leading
political parties and their candidates, which was done by the Southeast Group 8
Rights Coalition, coordinated by Intersociety; we have strong information that
the importation of strange persons into the State especially during the
continuous registration exercise was linked to the Labour Party. The party was
also accused of buying voters’ cards in Ayamelum.
On Wednesday and
Thursday evening of 13th and 14th of November,
2013, some members of the Labour Party were sighted at 29, Orakwu Street and
Oraifite Town Hall, on Miss Elems Street, all in Fegge, Onitsha, engaging in
“voters’ cards buy back” wonder lotto or raffle draw; whereby you submit your
voters’ cards irretrievably and thumb-print on a blank space provided in the
camouflage lotto raffle tickets. Some of the victims are instantly
given attractive gifts like motorcycles, standing fans, refrigerators, electric
irons and kettles so as to draw more victims or public rush, while others are
promised to be given later.
The massive operation
“share money”, including a reported instruction to each of the 326 wards to
“deliver your ward and get N7M” is linked to the PDP. On the part of APGA,
which controls the State, it is accused of banning other political parties from
campaigning in the markets in the State, citing security reasons. It was also
reported by a journalist that the party’s agents were sighted in a location in
Awka on Thursday, 14th of November, 2013, sharing money among
its agents, who will man the polling centers in the State, numbering 4,608. The
reporter said they recorded their conversation.
The APC is seriously
linked to the inducement of registered voters in their houses with money and other
lofty monetary promises, during which they are asked to surrender their cards
for extraction of their polling units’ pin numbers and other useful code
numbers. Some have their cards withheld, while few who protested and backed
down have theirs returned.
Further, at No.9,
Ihitenansa Street, Iyiowa Odekpe in Ogbaru LGA of Anambra State, a woman, who
sells provisions in a kiosk, told Intersociety that the APC people came and
collected her voters’ card and gave her N2, 000 and as at 14thof
November, 2013, it has not been returned. During an ABS Television live program
held in the morning of 14th of November, 2013, callers from
Federal Housing, Onitsha and Nnewi areas confirmed that the criminal exercise
is a State wide operation that started days after the Anambra INEC handed over
the soft copies of the last updated voters’ list to the 23 contesting political
parties. The list, which was given to them on 16th of October,
2013, contained 1, 784, 475 registered voters.
The collection of photos
of non-registered voters and other personal data including name, age, gender,
State and LGA of origin, street address and phone numbers, is also traced to
the APC’s doorstep. Mr. and Mrs. Sunday Umejesi, who reside at Iyiowa Odekpe,
are one of those approached by the APC in that respect. They were interviewed
by Intersociety and they not only confirmed it, but also revealed that a number
of their neighbors are “already involved”.
The Independent National
Electoral Commission is called upon to be extremely vigilant and be mindful of
the foregoing. This has further heightened our earlier fears that the INEC
adhoc staff hierarchy may include hundreds of card-carrying members of some
contesting political parties. The recent arrest of hundreds of un-named persons
quartered in a hotel in Imo State, who are said to have been caught bearing
Anambra voters’ cards, is another example. While detailed investigation by
security agencies into the incident is required to ascertain the truth,
security searchlights should be beamed the more throughout the State and its
boundaries to unmask other criminal plots to deny this important poll its
deserved credibility and popularity.
In all, the leadership
of Intersociety has since July 2013, when the time-table for
the all-important poll was released to the public, featured in fifteen
television and radio appearances in the State in respect of pre-election public
advocacy activities. These include six appearances on the Anambra Broadcasting
Service Television’s “Face the Press”, two appearances on the same ABS TV’s
“People & Politics” and two appearances on the television’s Onitsha
section’s live program called “Issues of the Moment”.
Others are three
phone-in radio programs, three appearances on the Onitsha NTA programs and
other interviews with the Silver Bird and Channel’s televisions. Over fifteen
public statements and letters were issued or written during this period, in
addition to four major public forums on “voter education”. Interestingly, all
these were carried done free of charge. In other words, all the television and
radio programs and interviews as well as newspapers and online publications
during the public advocacy under reference, were free of charge. The public
forums were also free of charge.
We are very grateful to
the managements of the aforementioned media industry for their priceless
assistance to us. We appeal to Anambra voters to vote wisely and
conscientiously. They have the option to vote in hugely
indebted and bankruptcy governance. They also have the option of vote
in “showbiz or “owambe” governance” as well as riotous or rascal
governance. Option also is theirs to vote out the 2nd Niger
Bridge, formidable reconstruction and completion of the Onitsha-Enugu Dual
Carriage Way, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport and the
collective Igbo identity.
On the other hand, it is
also the wisdom and right of Anambra voters to vote in all
the positives mentioned above including the 2nd Niger Bridge
and the Igbo identity. They can as well vote out the
negatives so mentioned including “owambe” governance, Igbo political slavery,
huge public indebtedness and rascality governance.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chairman of the Board
International Society for Civil Liberties
& the Rule of Law
08033601078, 08180103912
Comrade Justus Ijeoma, Head, Publicity Desk
08037114869
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