Kogi gov’ship: INEC mustn’t relinquish powers to tribunal

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the highest body in Nigeria saddled with the powers of conducting elections into various elective leadership positions.

The duties of INEC as electoral body were spelt out by the Nigeria constitution and the Electoral Act to carry out its numerous functions on the activities of political parties.

These powers of INEC on political parties’ activities, ranging from party primaries through to the actual conduct of the elections, were in relevant sections and subsections of the constitution and the Electoral Act 2022 as amended.

Equally, there is also INEC guideline that spelt out regulatory processes to follow in exercising these laws and Bylaws guiding electoral conduct.

The recently concluded governorship election in Kogi State was fraught with all manners of electoral malfeasance.

This obvious primitive rigging style of possessing pre-written result sheets in virtually all the polling units in five LGA of the Kogi Central Senatorial District is worrisome.

Even at the attempt to cover up, such could not be possible as the little polling units administered with BVAS machines have recorded figures for a particular party being at variance with the accredited figures from the BVAS machines.

Again, Sections 7 (2) of the electoral Act makes it mandatory that to vote, the presiding officer shall use BVAS or any other technological device that may be prescribed by INEC for the accreditation of voters.

A stitch in time saves nine, otherwise subsequent elections in Nigeria will be characterized with over voting and neglecting use of the BVAS for pre-written procured result sheets before commencement of the election in the polling booths.