A civil rights organisation, Transition Monitoring Group expressed fears over the conduct of political parties towards officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, with a demand that they should “desist from heating up the polity ahead of the elections rescheduled for February 23, 2019.”
“Nigeria is too fragile to go into a full-scale conflict. We, therefore, call on all Nigerians to maintain peace and shun violence for the sake of Nigeria,” it advised.
The TMG also demanded a general audit of the logistic and operational processes of INEC after the elections and a panel to investigate its systems and processes.
The demand for an audit, it said, was to prevent future elections postponement, adding that Nigeria’s electoral system should be experienced enough to avoid the kind of hiccups that had gradually been defining the electoral processes of the country.
The TMG in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Chairperson, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said it was concerned about the attempts by politicians to damage the credibility of some of INEC National Commissioners who over time had proven themselves as worthy ambassadors of Nigeria.
“We are more concerned in particular, about the petition submitted by the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Akwa Ibom chapter, calling for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, for alleged partisanship and other sundry offences ahead of the general polls in the country,” it said.
The TMG, therefore, called on political parties’ gladiators to “desist from further heating up the polity with the numerous allegations being peddled against INEC officials and security agencies over their compromise and affiliation with one political party or the other”.
The statement reads: “The REC, Igini has since refuted these allegations, to be clear. However, these allegations deserve unfathomable scrutiny from the authorities, if Nigerians are to get a sense of closure from the terrible events of the recent past when politicians subverted the democratic choices and aspirations of Nigerians through whimsical political gimmicks to gain electoral advantage.
“Nevertheless, the call for the removal and probe of REC Igini and other INEC top officials few days to the general elections on unfounded allegations would only amount to a shady scheme to undermine the credibility of the electoral process and unnecessary meddling in the affairs of INEC by the ruling party and opposition.
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