Ref:
Intersociety/001/01/015/FGN/ABJ/NG
The Chairman of the Federal
Executive Council & President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Thro
Senator Anyim Pius Anyim,
Secretary to the Government of the Federation
Office of the Secretary to the
Government of the Federation
Shehu Shagari Complex, Three
Arms Zone
Abuja, FCT 234, Nigeria
Sir,
February 2015
General Polls & Allied Matters: Before INEC Sets Nigeria On Fire
The leadership of International
Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law wishes to alert your
noble Council headed by Mr. President over the above subject.
On 9th January, 2015, the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by Prof Attahiru
Jega, made public the status of the National Register of Voters to be
used in the February General Elections in Nigeria. The INEC said that it
has received as at January 7, 2015, a total of 54, 341, 610 (fifty four
million, three hundred and forty one thousand, six hundred and ten) PVCs
(permanent voters cards) from its suppliers/ contractors; out of which, 38,
774, 391 (thirty eight million, seven hundred and seventy four thousand, nine
hundred and ninety one) have been distributed to registered voters across the
country till date.
On January 13, 2015, the Jega’s
INEC made another public statement saying that a total of 68, 833, 476
(sixty eight million, eight hundred and thirty- three thousand, four hundred
and seventy six) RVs (registered voters) have been penciled down to vote
in the February General Elections in the country. It said it arrived at the
figure after subjecting the National Register of Voters to automated
fingerprint identification system (AFIS) for the purpose of elimination
of multiple/double registrants, after which the figure came down from 70,
383, 427 to 68, 833, 476. The Jega’s INEC
also pasted on its website the State by State distribution of the PVCs and
withheld State by State breakdown of its given and approved registered voters
of 68, 833, 476 it penciled down to vote in the said polls.
However, we have at our disposal
text of a press conference addressed by the Chairman of INEC on 10th
September 2014. A copy of it was sent to us on September 24, 2014 by the
Chairman of INEC following our protest letter to him over the botched creation
of 30, 000 plus polling units and their lopsided geopolitical distribution. The
said text contains State by State breakdown of the National Register of
Voters, which also captures the total number of registered voters in
each State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Disenfranchisement
Of Over 35M Voters:
As of date, over 35 million
Nigerians most of them registered voters have been disenfranchised by the
Jega’s INEC. The total number of disenfranchised registered voters across the
country is 30, 059, 085; out of which those that have not been captured
in the PVCs production and delivery is 14, 491, 866, while those
captured in the PVCs but have not received theirs till date is
15, 567, 219. This brings to total the number of disenfranchised registered
voters to 30, 059, 085 (thirty million, fifty nine thousand, eighty five). In
other words, out of 68, 833, 476 registered voters, which INEC said will vote
in the February polls, only 38, 774, 391 have received their PVCs till
date, leaving a total of 30, 059, 085 disenfranchised. Other five million
eligible registrants were also not captured during various continuous
registration exercises across the country particularly in the Southeast
and the Southwest geopolitical zones. This is largely premised on the Jega’s
INEC administrative incompetence and discriminatory factors popularly believed
to have been fueled by ethno-religious primordialism.
Geopolitical
Breakdown: Our State by State and
geopolitical zonal investigation of the Jega’s INEC allocation of registered
voters and distribution of the available PVCs is as follows: Northwest
1. Kano State: registered voters 4, 751, 818, PVCs distributed 2, 771, 185, 2.
Kaduna State: registered voters 3, 743, 815, PVCs distributed 2, 643, 517, 3.
Katsina State: registered voters 2, 928, 046, PVCs distributed 1, 965, 840, 4.
Sokoto State registered voters 2, 113, 698, PVCs distributed 1, 211, 717, 5.
Kebbi State registered voters 1, 459, 374, PVCs distributed 1, 035, 780, 6.
Zamfara State registered voters 1, 802, 302, PVCs distributed 935, 302, 7.
Jigawa State registered voters 1, 817, 087, PVCs distributed 1, 460, 420. Total
registered voters for the Northwest zone 18, 616, 499. Total PVCs
distributed 12, 003, 964. Total disenfranchised 6, 612, 535.
North-Central: 1. Benue State: registered
voters 2, 340, 718, PVCs distributed 1, 132, 178, 2. Plateau State: registered
voters 2, 082, 725, PVCs distributed 1, 072, 352, 3. Niger State: registered
voters 2, 427, 081 PVCs distributed 1, 089, 002, 4. Kogi State: registered
voters 1, 305, 533, PVCs distributed 755, 775, 5. Nasarawa State: registered
voters 1, 291, 876, PVCs distributed 799, 991, 6. Kwara State registered
voters 1, 125, 035, PVCs distributed 670, 694. Total registered voters for
the North-Central 10, 592, 958. Total PVCs distributed 5, 539, 982. Total
disenfranchised 5, 052, 976.
Northeast (troubled zone): 1. Bauchi
State: registered voters 2, 502, 609, PVCs distributed 1, 509, 255, 2.
Gombe State: registered voters 1, 208, 927, PVCs distributed 802, 959, 3.
Yobe State: registered voters 1, 203, 224, PVCs distributed 740, 336, 4.
Adamawa State: registered voters 1, 682, 907, PVCs distributed 912, 312, 5.
Taraba State: registered voters 1, 279, 394, PVCs distributed 921, 637, Borno
State: registered voters 2, 570, 349, PVCs distributed (est.) 1, 570, 349. Total
registered voters for Northeast 10, 447, 410. Total PVCs distributed
7, 456, 848. Total PVCs distributed excluding Borno 4, 886, 499. Total
disenfranchised 2, 990, 562.
Southwest: 1. Lagos State: registered
voters 5, 426, 391, PVCs distributed 2, 159, 091, 2. Oyo State: registered
voters 2, 487, 132, PVCs distributed 1, 141, 405, 3. Ogun State: registered
voters 1, 796, 024, PVCs distributed 930, 276, 4. Ondo State: registered
voters 1, 472, 237, PVCs distributed 824, 715, 5. Osun State: registered
voters 1, 318, 120, PVCs distributed 992, 310, 6. Ekiti State: registered
voters 688, 950, PVCs distributed 481, 198. Total registered voters for
Southwest 13, 188, 854. Total PVCs distributed 6, 419, 003. Total
disenfranchised 6, 769, 851.
South-south: 1. Rivers State: registered
voters 2, 466, 977, PVCs distributed 1, 253, 606, 2. Delta State: registered
voters 2, 044, 372, PVCs distributed 1, 260, 728, 3. Edo State: registered
voters 1, 593, 488, PVCs distributed 930, 276, 4. Cross River State: registered
voters 1, 169, 469, PVCs distributed 469, 763, 5. Akwa Ibom State: registered
voters 1, 621, 798, PVCs distributed 1, 177, 950, 6. Bayelsa State: registered
voters 590, 679, PVCs distributed 370, 029. Total registered voters for
South-south 9, 486, 811. Total PVCs distributed 5, 788, 053. Total
disenfranchised 3, 698, 758.
Southeast: 1. Anambra State: registered
voters 1, 784, 536, PVCs distributed 862, 747, 2. Imo State: registered
voters 1, 672, 666, PVCs distributed 682, 046, 3. Abia State: registered
voters 1, 387, 844, PVCs distributed 1, 020, 601, 4. Enugu State: registered
voters 1, 313, 128, PVCs distributed 662, 445, 5. Ebonyi State: registered
voters 1, 020, 011, PVCs distributed 687, 402. Total registered voters for
Southeast 7, 178, 185. Total PVCs distributed 3, 944, 242. Total
disenfranchised 3, 233, 943.
Further
Analysis: Out
of total registered voters of 892, 628 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),
only 411, 935 have received their PVCs till date leaving 480, 683
disenfranchised. In all, there are a total of 40, 549, 495 (forty million, five
hundred and forty nine thousand, four hundred and forty nine) registered voters
in the entire North including the FCT; as against a total of 29, 853, 850
(twenty nine million, eight hundred and fifty three thousand, eight hundred and
fifty) registered voters in the entire South. Out of these figures, 24, 481,
487 have received their PVCs in the North, while only 16, 151, 298 have
received theirs in the entire South. In other words, while 24, 481, 487 PVCs
holders will vote in the February polls, only 16, 151, 298 PVCs holders in
the entire South will vote.
Over four million Igbo-Nigerians
resident in the North particularly in Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Borno and Adamawa
States, who fled the troubled areas owing to insurgency; will not participate
and vote in the crucial voting under reference. Their abandoned PVCs form
bulk of the uncollected PVCs in the entire North. Till date, the Jega’s
INEC has made no efforts in recapturing them in the National Register of
Voters as registered voters in the context of voters’ cards transfer
or fresh voters’ registration.
It is shocking and disbelieving that
the Jega’s INEC is bent on disenfranchising tens of millions of Nigerian
registered voters as well as other eligible registrants. We are compelled to
conclude that the Commission is not interested in conducting popular and
all-inclusive as well as credible and genuine polls for Nigerians this coming
February 2015. Instead, what looks like its pre-occupation is its bent on
getting the so called IDPs with unverifiable statistics of “918,
416” to vote in the Northeast. It is an indisputable fact that over 80% of the
so called IDPs receiving the Jega’s INEC special consideration at
the expense of other disenfranchised 30 million registered Nigerian voters are
of a particular ethno-religious tribe bent on ruling the country at all costs
including by violence.
Funny and shocking too, the same
Northeast zone troubled by insurgency, which the Jega’s INEC is fighting tooth
and nail to get their so called “IDPs” to vote in the said crucial February
2015 polls via amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act; is one of the highest
recipients of the ongoing distribution of the PVCs. While the five
States in the troubled zone have received a total of 4, 886, 499 PVCs so
far, the registered voters in the entire five States in the Southeast zone have
received only 3, 944, 242 PVCs as of date. Despite the Jega’s INEC
magical distribution of PVCs in the zone with high percentage
distribution, the Commission is still desperately pursuing a case of getting
the zone voting 100% while leaving over 30 million other registered Nigerian
voters particularly in the Southeast and the Southwest brutally
disenfranchised.
Why We
Write: Our
writing your noble Council is to pray same to prevent the Jega’s INEC
from setting Nigeria on fire by mindlessly disenfranchising over 35 million
Nigerian adult voters including over 30 million registered voters. The Jega’s
INEC resort to “percentage and technical excuses” to evade its
blameworthiness following its colossal failure in its midwifery of the National
Register of Voters must no longer be condoned.
Rights of
all qualified Nigerians to vote
or be voted for; to participate in public affairs of their beloved country and
associate and express themselves freely are so fundamental that they are
entrenched in the Chapter Four of our Constitution of 1999 as well as
the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights of 1981, ratified and
domesticated by Nigeria in 1983. They are also judicially protected by Section
46 of the Constitution under Chapter Four. We are in the know that over
10,000 Nigerians have submitted their consent to some leading rights groups
across the country to sue INEC in the event they are disenfranchised at the end
and denied their right to vote in the referenced polls. Your noble Council
must understand the consequences of allowing such justiciable
actions brought against the Federal Government of Nigeria with attendant
national and international opprobrium and huge judgment costs and monetary
awards and rewards.
Calls: The Jega’s INEC must be called to order to do the right
thing or its headship forced to resign. In line with the recent resolution of
the House of Reps, Jega’s INEC should allow all registered Nigerian voters
irrespective of their ethno-religious affiliations and sexes to vote with PVCs
and the Temporary Voters Cards. In alternative, the Commission must
find the easiest and publicly verifiable means of getting the PVCs to
all the registered voters in all parts of the country even if it means
commissioning its ad-hoc staff to take them to their homes and subject them to delivery
on identification; a method used during the distribution of the pioneer
national identity cards in early 2000s; if not, the former must be inexcusably
used in the referenced polls.
It is our further call on Mr.
President to withhold his assent to any bill passed by the National Assembly
hurriedly sponsored by the Jega’s INEC seeking to get the so called “Northeast
IDPs” (comprising infants, children, women and the aged) said to be
numbering 918, 416 to vote in the referenced polls until the issue of
disenfranchisement of 30, 059, 085 registered Nigerian voters is frontally
addressed by the Commission.
The Jega’s INEC must be compelled to
explain to your noble Council the likelihood or the otherwise of
delivering from its contractors/suppliers the outstanding 15, 567, 219 PVCs,
not yet delivered to the Commission till date as well as possibility of
effecting comprehensive distribution of same and the undistributed ones
amounting to 14, 491, 866 to the remaining registered Nigerian voters before
the referenced polls. In other words, what is the possibility of the
Jega’s INEC enfranchising the disenfranchised registered Nigerian voters
numbering 30, 059, 085 (thirty million, fifty nine thousand, eighty five)
twenty four days to the all important February 2015 general polls in
Nigeria?
Condoning
Buhari’s Non WASCE/GCE Certificate & Allied Misconducts: Other attempts by the Jega’s INEC to
set Nigeria on fire are allowing the likes of Mr. Mohammed Buhari to contest
public elective office (presidency) in Nigeria without any educational paper
certificate contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria 1999 (s 131), as well as allowing multiplicity of candidates in one
political party contesting for one elective public office. A clear case is in
Anambra State where almost all PDP Federal and State Legislative aspirants are
jostling for three Senatorial seats, eleven Federal Reps seats and thirty State
Legislative seats.
These are not only an invitation to
anarchy, but also a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundation of
Nigeria and its Constitution. The Jega’s INEC blameworthiness in all these is
inexcusable. By resorting to court orders instead of sticking to internal
party democracy (party primaries) done in full adherence to INEC
guidelines; the Jega’s INEC should be held accountable for the referenced messy
developments.
Notwithstanding eleventh hour
attempt by Mr. Muhammed Buhari and his associates to pad up a post primary
school result sheet in the form of “a secondary school certificate”, it is
shocking that those seeking to be addressed as “Their Excellencies”
in public offices are liars under oath. Filling of INEC’s Forms by candidates
with required conditions to be strictly met, have no rooms for certificate
gambling or lying under oath. Till date, Mr. Buhari has
not produced any post secondary school certificate. School result sheet,
whether concocted or otherwise can never serve as a constitutionally required
secondary school certificate.
As for lawyers who have taken a
center stage in the media to dabble into interpretation of what
constitutes a post primary school certificate or not, we make
bold to say that Nigerians do not need their opinions. The job of the Bench is
to interpret laws when necessary, while the job of the Bar is private
legal practice. Nigerian elections and allied issues like provision of school
certificates must not be turned into brief seeking campaigns.
Again the Jega’s INEC is hugely to
be blamed. By allowing a presidential candidate without a common post
primary school certificate to continue to parade himself as a leading candidate
in the country’s presidency in this ICT age, is a height of public incompetence
and abdication of public entrusted duties on the part of the Jega’s INEC. These
explain why we held tenaciously and still hold that if extreme care is not
taken by your noble Council, the Jega’s INEC will set Nigeria on fire
over the referenced polls and allied matters.
We, therefore, pray your noble
Council not to allow this broad day scandalous conduct to stand. The Jega’s
INEC must be given a marching order to tender before your noble Council
and the Nigerian public as a matter of uttermost immediacy the referenced
certificate of Mr. Mohammed Buhari. The Constitution does not say or recognize
“school result sheet”, but Senior Secondary School Certificate or its
equivalent certificates. The provisions of the Constitution of our beloved
country must be adhered to and protected at all times in accordance with her
Section 13. Where the Jega’s INEC and Mr. Mohammed Buhari fail to produce and
tender the referenced certificate, its headship must resign and Mr. Buhari’s
running mate, Prof Yemi Osibanjo made to step in as his Party’s Presidential
Candidate.
Yours Faithfully,
For: International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of
Law
Emeka
Umeagbalasi, B. Sc. (Hons.) Criminology & Security Studies
+2348174090052, +2348100755939 (office)
Board Chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties
& the Rule of Law
Uzochukwu Oguejiofor, Esq., (LL.B, BL), Head, Campaign &
Publicity Department
Chiugo Onwuatuegwu, Esq., (LL.B, BL), Head, Democracy &
Good Governance Program
CC:
1. Senator David Mark, President of
the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria
2. Hon Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker, House
of Reps, Federal Republic of Nigeria
3. Prof Attahiru Jega, Chairman,
Independent National Electoral Commission
4. Air Chief Marshal AS Badeh, Chief
of Defense Staff, Armed Forces of Nigeria
5.
Mr.
Suleiman A. Abba, Inspector General of Police, Federal Republic of Nigeria
6. Mr. Ita Ekpeyong, Director
General, State (Department of) Security Services
7. His Excellency, Mr. Peter Gregory
Obi, Deputy DG, South, GEJ Campaign Organization
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