Still on Vote Buying: Nigerian scientists to the rescue?
News & Trends •
by chukwudi ekezie2 vote buying is a nigerian problem. maybe someday a nigerian scientist will develop a chip that can be installed on the panel used in constructing the voting cubicle to hinder all activities not related to the casting of vote in the enclosure. nanfeatures1 the electoral umpire independent national electoral commission inec has since then held several stakeholders engagements to find a solution to the problem which gets more sophisticated with every new election1 at the beginning it was the bribing of prospective voters by politicians who offer them gifts of food and clothing items as well as suspicious acts of philanthropy in form of empowerment programmes and infrastructure development projects during electioneering1 later the practice was the secret bribing of election officials party and security agents to change poll results in favour of losers1 however recent experiences demonstrate the boldness of politicians who have turned election venues to open auction grounds where the ballot goes to the highest bidder1 to avoid the shame of ekiti during which voters received pay for voting after displaying pictures of thumb-printed ballot papers to party agents inec has resolved to re-administer polling units starting with the osun governorship election holding on sept. 221 the chairman of inec prof. mahmood yakubu said when he presented certificate of registration to 23 new political parties that the new polling unit structure would make it difficult for voters to display their ballot papers after marking them1 the commission is deeply worried about our elections particularly the way they are becoming increasingly monetised1 vote buying is a cancer to our elections and we must work together collectively to stamp it out1 accordingly and on the part of the commission starting with osun governorship election coming up on sept. 22 we will change the way our polling units are administered. it will be done in such a way that there will be no room for voters to expose their marked ballot papers between voting cubicles and the ballot boxes.1 we shall further re-strategise with the security agencies for a more robust response to the arrest and prosecution of vote buyers1 we will also engage with all well-meaning groups for more effective voter education and voter sensitisation yakubu said1 to strengthen its hold on the issue inec stated that voters would no longer be allowed to take smartphones into the voting cubicle to prevent them from taking pictures of thumb-printed ballot papers to present to party agents as evidence for payment after voting1 in the past the commission said it was helpless over the handling of matters arising from the conduct of elections especially the prosecution of electoral offenders. it said it lacked the capacity to prosecute such cases1 however that responsibility has shifted to the economic and financial crimes commission efcc which has accepted to prosecute election fraud offenders1 the acting chairman of efcc ibrahim magu said the agency was working with inec and the police to track politicians and others involved in vote buying1 magu said efcc was monitoring spending by politicians and political parties during elections and had put banks on notice regarding transactions by parties and politicians1 after vote buying nigerias new political headache reached its climax during the conduct of ekiti governorship election in july nigerians have been thinking of ways to deal with the phenomenon which threatens to destroy the countrys democracy1 we will monitor unusual cash withdrawals. we are going to work with other relevant agencies like the police on this1 before now it was inconceivable for law enforcement agencies to investigate the sources of election funding of political parties and their candidates1 this has led to gross financial abuse and the pervasion of the electoral process and consequently enthroned bad leadership which in turn led to corruption and bad governance he said1 the federal executive council fec on its part approved a bill for a law to establish an election offences commission. the agency it is hoped will take the burden of post-election crises management off the shoulders of inec1 the steps so far taken particularly the ban on the use of smartphones in polling cubicles do not appeal to some groups. the leading opposition peoples democratic party pdp describes the step as a plan by the ruling all progressives congress apc to rig the 2019 general elections1 we have all heard what the chairman of inec prof. mahmood yakubu said about the decision to ban the use of smartphones in the polling units. all over the world a smartphone is the easiest way of communication1 what they have said clearly shows that the commission in connivance with the all progressives congress has perfected a rigging strategy for the next election1 in fact inec has sent nigeria back to the primitive days1 the same plan to rig the 2019 election is responsible for the refusal of the president to sign the amended electoral act because the card reader must be used pdp national chairman uche secondus said. similarly a group not too young to perform has rejected the ban on the use of smartphones at polling units and urged inec to plan better.1 for us since the major incident of vote buying occurred during the anambra governorship election in november last year inec has not done enough to nip the anti-people practice in the bud1 we hail the commission for recognising that vote buying is a big challenge that must be tackled but the ban on use of cellphones and camera at polling units cannot be the best inec can offer in its efforts to curb the menace. inec should go back to the drawing board to find better ways to deal with it if it cant prosecute offenders1 while all stakeholders acknowledge the threat of vote buying to democracy the issue remains contentious1 the approach adopted by inec is traditional considering the state of technology at its disposal. the proposals by efcc and fec are laudable but considering the weakness in law enforcement in the country there are doubts that much can be achieved1 for example while the law makes electoral fraud an offence no one including some persons alleged to have been involved in electoral violence bribery intimidation forgery and manipulation of election results in the past has been punished1 it has been difficult to apply the rule to all groups and persons in nigeria especially when influential persons are involved. such persons and groups or those associated with them are often treated with deference1 in all societies when a problem arises in one sector the whole community including scientists get to work to resolve the issue1 the adoption of scientific approach to deal with issues is objective and less contentious1 we are working with inec to stop vote buying we are seriously pursuing this1

Adeosuns Resignation: Patriotism, integrity under scrutiny
News & Trends •
by chukwudi ekezie2 adeosun may be lonely in her world with her career and future ruined but there are numerous like her in the system who need to be purged. nanfeatures1 the issues border on honesty integrity patriotism weakness and incompetence as well as relationship between the strong and weak in society among those holding public office and the institutions of governance1 adeosun is not the first nigerians public official found to have been involved in forgery1 at the inception of the fourth republic in 1999 the speaker of the house of representatives alhaji salisu buhari from kano state was found to have forged the university certificate which he presented to contest and win election into the assembly1 buhari resigned his position and membership of the assembly but with a kiss from former president olusegun obasanjo who granted him state pardon1 over the period many politicians have lost their electoral mandates at the court because they forged the certificates they used to contest elections. that was the case of christian abah a benue member of the house of representatives1 abah was found guilty of forging a diploma certificate he used to contest and win the 2015 election to represent adookpokwuogbadibo federal constituency he lost his seat but not his freedom1 aside the issue of certificate forgery many officials have been found to have compromised their positions by engaging in acts inimical to the public good1 a recent case is that of babachir lawal a former secretary to the government of the federation who used his position to award himself a contract for the cutting of grass at internally displaced persons camps in the northeast region1 in spite of calls by the national assembly for him to resign it took the indictment of an investigative panel chaired by vice-president yemi osinbajo to get him out of office1 but lawal still bestrides politics in adamawa his home state where he is seeking to oust gov. jibrilla bindow in the build up for the 2019 general elections1 former governors diepreye alamieyesiegha of bayelsa lucky igbinedion of edo and james ibori of delta were jailed for laundering state funds1 alamieyesiegha received state pardon after serving his sentence from then president goodluck jonathan who succeeded him as governor while ibori received a heros welcome from the government and people of delta after serving his prison term in britain where he was convicted1 igbinedion has yet to enjoy such privilege maybe because those who succeeded him in office especially adams oshiomhole national chairman of all progressives congress apc is still hurting over his mismanagement of state resources1 joshua dariye a serving senator is currently serving a 14-year jail-term for money laundering and mismanaging the resources of plateau from 1999 to 2007 as governor of the state1 numerous governors of the era including orji kalu of abia are still in court explaining how they managed the resources of their states1 in the cases of adeosun buhari and lawal no prosecution has taken place1 president muhammadu buhari appointed mr boss mustapha an adamawa politician as lawals replacement. in adeosuns case the president accepted her resignation and wished her well in her future endeavours1 the ruling apc has commended adeosuns courage for owning up that her national youth service corps nysc certificate was forged and resigning from the government1 it also commended the president for asking her to resign in line with the philosophy of the government of ridding the society of crime1 the resignation of mrs olukemi adeosun as minister of finance on friday sept. 14 for forgery has raised questions over the workings of nigeria1 some persons share the pdp view and demand that adeosun refund all monies she earned as commissioner for finance in her home state ogun for five years and as minister of the federal republic since 20161 while the debate on the fate of the former minister rages some have begun to ask about how she and others like her enter nigerias public service space1 nigerians are made to believe that before anyone gets into public office such person is put through security scrutiny to establish their background1 in this instance the department of state service carries out the assignment. at the level of the screening all issues related to the person including certificates are verified1 for persons whose jobs require the approval of the legislature the security report is made available to guide members to take decisions1 in adeosuns case this step was taken but it was said that members of the senate overlooked it1 adeosun a diaspora nigerian was born and raised in britain and returned to live and work in nigeria at the age of 341 she is currently 51 and that means that she has worked in nigeria for 17 years out of which seven was in the public service starting with her appointment as commissioner in 2011 and minister in 20161 she like many of her ilk is among millions of nigerians said to be excelling in their fields across the globe1 during the regime of obasanjo the government made serious efforts to attract them home to help develop the fatherland1 to achieve the goal obasanjo travelled all over europe and america to bring them home under the diaspora project1 that effort resulted in then rep. abike dabiri who chaired the house of representatives committee on diaspora pushing for the establishment of a diaspora commission1 based on the vision of obasanjo the diaspora group was granted privileges such as access to land and employment concessions in the hope that they would bring their expertise to develop the country being that they had better education and exposure than those at home1 the government institutionalised the practice such that some members of the cabinet like the late olugbenga ashiru minister of foreign affairs and ngozi okonjo-iweala minister of finance seconded to serve at home by international agencies like the world bank received salaries in dollars to make up for their pains in serving the fatherland1 there was also the case in the ministry of federal capital territory where the current governor of kaduna state malam nasir el-rufai then minister engaged some foreign-trained nysc members and paid them salaries higher than that of the permanent secretary of the ministry just because they studied abroad and possessed special skills1 many nigeria diaspora elements are children of the rich who sojourned out because their parents lack faith in nigerias disrupted education system. their parents want them to finish school on time to inherit the family business or join elite public and private institutions such as nigerian national petroleum corporation nigerian communications commission multinational oil companies and banks to sustain the family legacy.1 sometimes they do not return but when they do they jump queues especially in areas that they need to follow regulations and processes including the nysc scheme which requires every nigerian youth who graduates from university or equivalent institution before 30 to serve the nation for one year1 in cases where diaspora elements agree to serve they are often taken to places of their parents choices where though in nysc uniforms they are employees1 in some cases while serving they are made to supervise those they ordinarily ought to report to during the service as occurred in nigeria building and roads research institute about year 2000 when the director-general was an nysc member1 the man an associate professor at the time claimed like adeosun that he did not know that he should have served in the nysc scheme before accepting the job1 but the opposition peoples democratic party disagrees. the party is demanding the former ministers prosecution. it says the failure of the administration to prosecute adeosun is a demonstration of double standards in the fight against corruption1