The just concluded general elections came with its twists and turns across the length and breadth of the nation. The attendant fraud and malpractices have continued to reverberate in the land. In Enugu, the polls recorded high drama and subterfuge, never witnessed in the annals of electoral history in Nigeria. The election was not only brazenly manipulated but eventually stolen by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, thus denying the Labour Party (LP) the clear mandate, which the people of the state freely gave to its flag bearer, Hon. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga.
It is unfortunate that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allowed itself to be used to subvert the popular will of the people of Enugu State in the 18th March rescheduled gubernatorial election, using the over-bloated votes of Nkanu East Local Government Area (LGA) as the staging post. The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, had, while announcing the controversial Nkanu East result which purportedly gave victory to PDP’s Mr Peter Mbah, stated that he was acting under a higher authority.
In other words, what Iwe was actually saying was that he was cajoled, intimidated and directed to declare the manipulated figures from Nkanu East, even when he knew that the figures in question were totally contrived. And how do you compare Iwe and his counterpart, Prof. Nnenna Oti, the Returning Officer in the governorship election in Abia State, who stood her ground and firmly refused to be swayed by the powers that be who wanted her to admit and announce falsified figures from Obingwa LGA, which would have tilted the outcome of the election in favour of the candidate of the PDP, Chief Okey Ahiwe, as opposed to the LP flag bearer, Dr Alex Otti, who was leading Ahiwe with about 91,000 votes?
In the case of Enugu State, the LP candidate, Edeoga, was cruising to victory, having defeated his main opponent, Mbah, in majority of the 16 out of the 17 LGAs in the state declared by INEC, remaining the controversial Nkanu East LGA. Having realised that Edeoga has virtually won the election, the PDP generated for itself 30,500 votes from the LGA to wipe the lead, which Edeoga was maintaining with the impressive votes he received from Nsukka LGA. Unfortunately for the PDP and its candidate, the voters accredited by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine in Nkanu East were not more than 9,000. It was, therefore, unthinkable that 30,500 votes were being recorded for the PDP.
Under the 2022 Electoral Act, once the number of votes in any polling unit, ward or LGA exceeds the total number of those accredited for an election, those votes are supposed to be cancelled in line with the law. But what played out in the case of Nkanu East was not only bizarre and unconscionable but totally despicable. Following the stiff protests by the LP and election observers, the collation of the falsified Nkanu East results was temporarily halted. The Returning Officer was summoned by INEC to its headquarters in Abuja for a review of the controversial Nkanu East results.
The least action that was expected from INEC headquarters was the cancellation of the entire Nkanu East results or the pronouncement of the results based on the BVAS accreditation. Even if all the 9,000 valid votes cast at the election in Nkanu East, based on the BVAS accreditation, were given to Mbah, the LP candidate, Edeoga would still have won the election.
It is, therefore, surprising that, after the so-called review in Abuja, INEC asked the Returning Officer to proceed with the announcement of results that had no bearing to the true outcome of the votes in the Nkanu East LGA. That fraudulent action is nothing but an act of impunity that defies logic and rationality. The heist must not be allowed to stand.
It is unfortunate that Iwe, who is said to be the Head of the Scripture Union in the academia in Nigeria, lacked the strength of character and moral courage to do the right thing unlike Oti, who refused to be compromised. Iwe cannot be exonerated from allegations of complicity and conspiracy by saying that he acted under authority. That proclamation alone merely showed him as a simpleton who was used as a tool to subvert the will of the people of Enugu State.
The likes of Iwe, by the ignoble roles they played in the 2023 elections across the country, have brought dishonour to themselves and the academia. Their shameful actions will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives. Nevertheless, people like Oti still give a modicum of hope that all is not lost with the academia.
Let it be stated clearly that the Enugu matter cannot be swept under the carpet. The retrieval of the stolen mandate from the PDP is a task that must be done. It is gladdening to note that the LP and its candidate have gone to court to seek redress. It is a straightforward case.
All objective political observers are hopeful that at the end of the day, Edeoga would retrieve his stolen mandate which was freely given to him by the good people of Enugu State.
Nwosu, Ph.D, a Political analyst, writes from Abuja
