By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Dapo Akinrefon
LAGOS — Controversy erupted yesterday over a seeming “loophole” in the 2010 Electoral Act allowing the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to appoint “Prominent Nigerians” as returning officers in the gubernatorial polls.

Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, who had until now been statutory returning officers of gubernatorial polls are themselves fuming with some alleging that they were being positioned to become mere agents and instruments for the purported prominent Nigerians to manipulate the polls.

INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega during a consultative meeting with the RECs in Abuja last Tuesday said the commission was considering “giving prominent roles in the election to respected Nigerians including serving as returning officers.”

His pronouncement has, however, stirred the angst among many RECs who were seething on their way back to their stations  after the meeting.

Remarkably, elements in the civil rights community endorsed the plans by the INEC chairman, saying it was Jega’s plan to strengthen the links in the electoral process which some of them traced to the RECs.

The REC in Yobe State, Sadiq Abubakar Musa contacted on telephone yesterday expressed serious reservation that the pronouncement was the commission’s expression of lack of confidence on its principal agents in the States.

“As far as I am concerned that is an aberration and I feel that as a REC you should be trusted by the commission to give a verdict on an election. If a REC is not able to give a verdict then what is his use being a REC.”

Prominent civil right activist, Mr. Mike Igini who is himself the REC for Cross River State was shell shocked by the development when contacted yesterday, saying that the loophole could mar the determination of many of the RECs to usher in free and fair polls as the provision leaves the RECs at the mercy of the prominent Nigerians.

“The section you have referred to have been removed in the 2010 Act with a loud silence. Why?   In my view, it is a regression and portends grave dangers ahead given the uncertainty on who actually have final authority to declare results of elections. Changes in our electoral laws should meet public expectations particularly at this time,” Igini said.

“For now, I want to believe that it was an omission and it should be corrected as quickly as possible in order not to cast doubts on our expressed intention to conducted free, fair and acceptable elections that even losers would accept easily.

“Frankly, I cannot comprehend how the removal of the power of REC as a returning officer in governorship elections improves the legal framework for the conduct or legitimacy of an election. How would the separation of the powers of the RECs, the electoral management processes from the individual who makes public the outcome of the total elections in that state?”

A number of other RECs contacted, yesterday, were unwilling to give their comments on record though the REC for Osun State, Dr. Rufus Akeju denied the plans.

Section 28 of the 2006 Electoral Act had provided for the announcement of the results at the following levels by the following officers:

(a) the Presiding Officer at the Polling Station;
(b) the Ward Returning Officer at the Ward Collation Centre;
(c) the Returning Officer, at the Local Government/Area Council;
(d) the Returning Officer at the State Constituency Collation Centre;

(e) the Returning Officer at the Federal Constituency Collation Centre;
(f)the Returning Officer at the Senatorial District Collation Centre;
(g) the Resident Electoral Commissioner who shall be the Returning Officer at the Governorship election; and

(h) the Chief Electoral Commissioner who shall be the Returning Officer at the Presidential election.

Remarkably, the 2010 Electoral Act, however, takes the role of returning officers away from the RECs and instead empowers vaguely defined State Coalition Officer as the returning officers for gubernatorial elections.

Vanguard sources yesterday revealed that the removal of the RECs as returning officers for gubernatorial elections was a fall out from an initiative under the past leadership of INEC under Prof. Maurice Iwu to abrogate the office of REC.

The Iwu INEC Vanguard learnt had submitted a memorandum to the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Committee seeking to abrogate the office of REC and in their places appoint Directors of Elections. The move, Vanguard learnt was a move by the Iwu INEC to consolidate its powers especially in enthroning favourable politicians during elections.

The proposal which was accepted by the Uwais Committee was, however, derailed following spirited lobby by the former RECs who successfully convinced the National Assembly that they were in better position to safeguard their interests than Iwu. Remarkably, the present chairman of INEC, Prof. Jega was a member of the Uwais Committee which adopted the Iwu proposal.

There were insinuations within INEC that hawks who were now fixing their fangs on Jega may have gotten him to reintroduce the proposal that the Uwais Committee failed to get through at the National Assembly.
Remarkably, the proposal found mixed reaction among the human rights community yesterday with Constitutional lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, saying it is a plan to restore integrity to the commission.

“What he (Jega) wants to do is to bring integrity to the electoral process. He wants to bring eminent people who will critically count the figures and look at the results.”

On his part, National Coordinator of Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms, CODER, Mr Ayo Opadokun said “if the 2006 Electoral Act specified a position and the 2010 Electoral Act did not annul it, that act remains valid. He (Jega) has to act within the confines of the law. There is a law in force and he has to follow what the law says. I’m sure he will not want to act outside what the law says.”

Also, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi welcomed the development.

His words: “If the act allows Jega to do what he wants to do, it should be regarded as a welcomed development. Right from the start, the Resident Electoral Commissioners have been the weak links in the electoral system because they are party members and most, if not all of them were recommended by their PDP governors.

Therefore, Jega must have seen this as a threat to his vow to conduct free, fair and transparent election. That is why he has decided on this programme. The most important thing now is how eminent are the eminent people he intends to appoint. I welcome this development.”