Former chairman of IPAC, Enugu State, Barr. John Nwobodo, has expressed doubts whether the Enugu State Independent National Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) is prepared and poised to conduct a free, fair and credible election.
The Council polls is slated for September 21, 2024.
Nwobodo in a statement on Sunday based his skepticism on the premise that ENSIEC has not been engaging the relevant stakeholders ahead of the election.
“The Commission’s engagement with relevant stakeholders especially political parties is near zero. The Commission since assuming office has met with political parties once at the prompting of political parties. This means that the political parties had no input whatsoever in an election in which they are the major players, “he said pointing out that the Commission’s transparency is shrouded in secrecy.
“The Commission’s preparation for the election is mirred in opacity. There is no information on deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive materials including modalities for accreditation. 6 days to the election, political parties are gasping for information on whether the Commission has secured the voter register and BVAS from INEC or are they contemplating to conduct the election without BVAS. Also germane is the uncertainty regarding their level of preparedness in terms of logistics,” he said.
He faulted the schedule the Commission brought out for the training of the adhoc staff but expressed the willingness of the opposition parties to participate in the forthcoming polls.
“On whether opposition parties are willing to participate, I would respond in the affirmative. However, the 21st September election is a forerunner election foreshadowing the election that meets the requirements of all.
“The election due this week is a mere waste of resources because the Commission has not fulfilled the conditions for conduct of valid election. The notice of election is less than 360 days; the parties primaries and submission of list of candidates did not satisfy the 180 days provided in the Electoral Act, 2022.
“Furthermore, the Commission has flatly defied all statutory procedural timeliness for conduct of elections. These breaches have hampered the participation of opposition political parties. For instance, the Commission’s amended timetable fixed campaigns for 7th September-20th September being a period of 14 days which is far from the 150 days of campaign provided in the Electoral Act, 2022. How far can a candidate traverse a Local Government Area in just 14 days? What kind of campaign?
“Overall, ENSIEC apart from its disdain for the law is grossly unprepared for the election and therefore lacks the capacity and integrity to conduct a free and fair elections,” Nwobodo declared.
