Without prejudice to Section 26 of the Electoral Act which empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone scheduled elections under certain conditions, we urge the electoral agency to press ahead with the presidential and gubernatorial elections as scheduled.
The calls for postponement have come from several sources, one of the most remarkable being that of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, at a forum in Chatham House, London. He urged INEC to postpone the elections to enable the commission distribute the remaining permanent voter cards (PVCs).
At first, many had thought he spoke for the government, but the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, have since argued against a postponement. Other calls for a shift had emanated from Nigerians who are justifiably perturbed by the tone of the campaigns, the lack of civility and the occasional outbreaks of violence. Much as these call for concern, we do not think they are enough to justify a postponement of the polls.
All the parties have been campaigning without let or hindrance. They have been spending colossal sums of money and they all are geared for the elections. A postponement, unless all the parties agree to it, would seem like a plot to deprive some parties of their real or imagined momentum.
The nation can be spared further controversy by going ahead with the elections as scheduled while at the same time working hard on the outstanding issues that are of concern to Nigerians. The PVC issue is causing millions of Nigerians sleepless nights because it has the potentiality of disenfranchising millions of voters, especially if the INEC insists, as it has done so far, that nobody will be allowed to vote without it.
The figures concerning the PVCs are rather disturbing. The INEC recorded 68.8 million registered voters for the elections. Of this figure, only about 44 million voters have reportedly collected their PVCs. In other words, if elections were to be held today, about 24 million registered voters would be disenfranchised.
Now, the issue bothering many Nigerians is the fear that between now and February 14, 2015 when the first election will hold, INEC would not have successfully fully distributed the PVCs. The geographical spread of the distribution of the cards is also so lopsided that it has led to suspicions that some regions have already been disenfranchised.
We urge INEC to pull out all the stops and make every effort to get the PVCs into the hands of registered voters. Millions have gone to INEC offices and returned frustrated, unable to pick their cards and not knowing what next to do. It is good that the commission has extended the deadline for collection of PVCs to February 8. It should make further special arrangements to ensure that a lot more people collect their cards before that date.
Registered voters should also now make extra effort to collect their PVCs before the deadline because, ultimately, the responsibility for collecting these cards rests solely on them. The duty of INEC is only to make sure that the cards are available at the designated places. The Federal Government should also consider declaring tomorrow and Saturday work-free days nationwide to give those who have not collected their cards the opportunity to do so.
We are truly disappointed that at this last minute, INEC is still bogged down with the collection of PVCs when it had a four-year notice on these elections. The electoral agency owes Nigeria clean elections after what happened in 2011, and in previous elections. Otherwise, it would have failed its ultimate test. We hope this does not happen.
The National Council of State is widely expected to deliberate on the postponement, or otherwise, of the polls at a meeting reportedly called by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja today. Our advice is that the elections be allowed to go on as scheduled. Any decision to the contrary may lay the nation open to a crisis with dire consequences for our democracy.
