.

By Mike Igini

1. As l wish all Nigerians a Very Happy New Year 2023, may l use the opportunity to call on all who have not collected their PVCs yet to do so, to be able to vote in the forthcoming general elections. The future direction of Nigeria is up to you all, the people, to decide in the coming elections. Nigerians must not dissolve into despair but resolve to act firmly by using the PVC in the forthcoming elections.

2. The 2022 Electoral Act, INEC processes and procedures have returned power of the ballot fully to voters at the polling units where elections will now be won or lost and not at wards, LGAs and other stages or points of result collation centres, which, in the past, have been centres where voters collective will were upturned and disempowered for decades. All the loopholes for rigging and manipulating elections have been blocked by INEC. We must build on the progress we have made so far in our fledging democracy, breaking the jinx of successful ruling party civilian government that conducted elections back-to-back though not perfect in 2003, 2007 and same ruling party conducted and lost election in 2015, transferred power peacefully to an opposition party, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria.

3. We must not regress from these critical democratic thresholds that we have crossed in the practice of our democracy. No group of political elites can and will ever complete the task of nation building because its a project that has no hope of final completion but rather of continous improvement as individuals in our journey of life that will terminate one day, it is only the journey of Nigeria that is forever and indeterminate. The current system has empowered Nigerians to determine the fate of politicians, but that empowerment will be meaningless and an unsatisfactory kind if the people do not come out in large numbers to demonstrate that power on February 25, 2023 in the presidential/National Assembly elections and on 11th March Governorship/state Houses of Assembly elections.

4. The fear of the power of the people through the ballot  during election is what makes  elected leaders pay attention to the needs, concerns and aspirations of citizens and to be accountable.  The 2023 elections offer opportunity for Nigerians to exercise and use their residual sovereignty to fire and hire the right type of leaders they want to govern them to be able to sing a new song of hope of a promising tomorrow.

5. Nigerians should make the right choices from  policy options, priorities  and programs offered by candidates. All Nigerians qualified to vote with PVC should rise to the call of duty and activate the office of the citizen by trooping to the polling units- en masse on the day of election to exercise their franchise. The power of their franchise  has been made more realizeable with the 2022 Electoral Act.

6. Nigerians across the country must unite to achieve the task ahead this year 2023, with courage of conviction by confronting self doubt, we all can overcome our challenges and difficulties because our situation is not a sentence to  a life of misery. Whatever we hope for in the future cannot be a gift but something we must work for and achieve. we must invest the time on election day, however inconvinient.

7. The Electoral Commission with its robust, sustainable and replicable processes and procedures should stand tall and mighty in the execution of its constitutional mandate to midwife this all-important democratic, free, fair and credible forthcoming elections for the consolidation of our democracy. The job of an umpire is not for errant people but a public trust that must not be betrayed, there should be no surrender of the core values of integrity, impartiality, neutrality and professionalism. The commission should continue and remain true to these core values.

8. Politicians should shun conducts that will undermine the integrity of our elections. They must appreciate the level of anger and hunger in the country that have created the level of awareness and eagerness by the people to vote in the forthcoming elections that has never been witnessed in our country .

Attempts at voters suppression will be resisted by voters who are determined to exercise their franchise. The current electoral process has delivered 105 successful pilot elections and will be used for the forthcoming elections. Political salvation lies with the electorate otherwise  shock, lamentation and dinosaur experience awaits any and all in 2023 who depend on old methods of rigging elections given that all loopholes have been blocked by 2022 Act and INEC procedures. Nigerians are no longer ready to accept the will and misfortune created by a few political elites as their fortune anymore.

9. The Nigerian police the lead agency for election security under the current leadership of the lnspector-General of police Usman Baba Alkali, should replicate the new election security strategies and successes recorded in the various off-season Governorship elections. The exemplary professionalism displayed during the conduct of these elections have given Nigerians so much to hope for and expect in the 2023 elections. The Election moment is the time when the  commitment    of personnel of security agencies to democratic values are tested. Security agencies must deal with and be able to contain violent activities of all extra-constitutional and non-legitimized groups planning  to curtail voters participation and rights to vote on Election Day. There should be absolute and unqualified neutrality of security agencies .

10. Above all, the most fundamental event that will be the most important point of reference in the life of this administration will be the outcome of the  2023 elections. The  president’s profound statements of commitment and charge to all security agencies on 31st October at the Owerri lGP conference & retreat for all officers to be “neutral, apolitical ,firm, loyal and be committed to democratic values” is highly commended coming from the commander-in-chief of the armed forces in the countdown to the 2023 elections. Today , there is the 2022 Act , INEC’s innovations exemplified by BVAS and IREV results upload but the only serious issue of concern to Nigerians and the international community is security which is within  the purview of the president as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

In times and moments of despair, fear of uncertainty by citizens, keeping hope alive is a major battle cry of the leader. I urge the president to continue on this part of charge to security agencies to maintain absolute neutrality as a statesman for the country to have a successful 2023 election that should  lead to a peaceful transfer of power as the greatest legacy that history will record for him and so shall he be remembered by history.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

*IGINI is immediate Past Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission