This  week, we continue the narrative on boycott of elections in Nigeria

On December 21, 1964, the Central Working Committee of NCNC rejected the 61 unopposed candidates in the North. Secretary F. S. McEwen said, “We do not regard these seats as won by the NPC,” adding that the party had decided on a “course of action.” Action Group protested against the two NNDP unopposed candidates in Ife.

Dr. Okpara, NCNC leader and Eastern Premier, described election arrangements as a “farce.” Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, described the NCNC as a “great liability to UPGA,” and said that if they lost the election, they would blame the AG.

On December 22, the Chairman of the Federal Electoral Commission, Mr. E. E. Esua, admitted in an emergency broadcast that there had been cases where more than one candidate had been validly nominated “and yet names of candidates have been announced as returned unopposed.” He appealed to all those unauthorized to make announcements on behalf of the Commission to desist from doing so. Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro of UPGA led a delegation to President Nnamdi Azikiwe to postpone the election. NPC warned the UPGA not to drag the President into “politics.”

The tug of war between NNA and UPGA led to the fear of a boycott of the election by UPGA. Two members of Mr. Esua’s Commission, Prince Akenzua and Mr. Anthony Aniagolu, resigned. Mr. Anthony Nnaemezie Christopher Aniagolu (1922–2011) later became a Justice of the Supreme Court and also chaired the 1988–1989 Constituent Assembly.

On December 30, a “partial” election took place with “brisk voting” in the North, “moderate” in the West, where there had been some destruction of polling booths, very limited in Lagos, where booths had also been destroyed and one man was injured in a riot, and non-existent in the East, where the UPGA boycott was complete. In the evening, UPGA issued a statement saying it would not accept any government formed on the basis of the elections which would be “compromising and evil.” It called on President Nnamdi Azikiwe to summon a conference of all political leaders to “break up the Federation peacefully.” The NPC held a meeting at State House, Marina, Lagos, with President Azikiwe; the objective was to preserve federal unity.

On January 1, 1965, President Nnamdi Azikiwe, a non-executive president in the parliamentary system of government, announced that “attempts are being made to bring about a compromise on the question of forming a government.” The text of the broadcast distributed to the press showed that the President had originally decided, in order to “arrest a situation which is rapidly deteriorating,” not to exercise his constitutional power in calling upon any individual to form a government, and that he would rather resign.

In my view, what will save our present political situation is to arrange for a free and fair election in the immediate future. All Nigerian patriots must hang their heads in shame today. The first national post-independence general election has been the signal for assaults on the Constitution and various acts of lawlessness hitherto unknown in the history of this country. As President of Nigeria, it is my view that the disruptive forces prevailing in the country constitute a situation which cannot be tolerated any longer.

The all-embracing question is: do we wish to disintegrate as a united country, every region forming part of the Federation going its own separate way, or do we wish our country to be strong and united—a country that should command respect in the comity of nations? I should be failing in my duty as President of this great nation if I were to act literally on the results of this election. My honest opinion is that it would reopen old wounds, exacerbate feelings, prolong bitterness, and hasten the exit of unity and democracy from our beloved nation.”

On January 2, 1965, while the NCNC announced that all its successful candidates had resigned their seats in Parliament, the NNA took the line that where elections had been conducted, they were valid and that by-elections should only be held in the Eastern Region constituencies, where no voting had taken place. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa said that any complaints about improper conduct of the elections should be made to the law courts, and proposed that a conference of all regional governments should be held “to avoid bloodshed.”

On January 4, 1965, the President announced after further consultations that the Constitution left him no alternative but to call on the outgoing Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to form a new government which would be of “broadly based national” character. Stating that he was prepared to subordinate his own personal feelings, Dr. Azikiwe declared that the Prime Minister and he had resolved their differences and were agreed that “the validity of elections can be questioned only by due process of law”; that in those constituencies where elections had not been held, arrangements should be made to hold them as soon as possible; that in Western Nigeria, where the boycott had affected the voting, “the results, in the interests of democracy, should be re-examined”; and that a review of the Constitution and the electoral machinery would take place. 

To be concluded

Eric Teniola, a former director at the Presidency wrote from Lagos.