BARELY 48 hours to the rescheduled National Assembly election, major stakeholders have expressed concerns
that unaccredited local observers are on the prowl.
This is coming on the heels of intelligence reports in security circles about the proliferation of such observer groups, allegedly bankrolled by a former governor in a South-West state.
Already, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm that such fake election monitors or observers have hatched plots to circulate misleading results, particularly in the South-West part of the country ahead of the release of authentic results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
A top security official, who craved anonymity told the Nigerian Tribune that both the State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigeria Police would be involved in what he called a ‘monitoring task force’ to ensure that election monitors were not only INEC-accredited, but also that their “membership, leadership and sponsors would be thoroughly vetted to ensure easy combing.”
INEC said, although it had records of all accredited election monitors, unaccredited ones would be handed over to relevant security agencies for prosecution.
But our source said: “We are already aware of the development before the report you are referring to; we are on top of the situation nationwide, because it is our duty to ensure that we verify thoroughly and vet clinically to unravel those behind these groups, I mean their membership, leadership, sponsors and intents through our monitoring task force.
“This is the only way to ensure easy combing of the entire country, particularly the polling units where they intend to monitor. Not only are we going to confirm whether or not they are duly accredited by INEC, we shall go the extra mile and anyone found culpable shall not be spared at all,” he said.
Putting the buck on the table of INEC, PDP’s National Legal Adviser, Chief Olusola Oke, in a telephone interview, said the nation’s electoral body had a responsibility to identify the genuine observers and monitors, saying, apart from the logistic challenges of INEC, it must guard against attempts to discredit the process.
“The INEC has a huge task ahead apart from the few hitches here and there because we have noticed that some opposition parties have already positioned some of their members as election monitors and observers, particularly in the South-West states.
“We have seen prominent members of a ruling party in one of the states, for instance, who are posing as election monitors and observers; their intention is clear and unambiguous.
“It is to discredit the outcome of elections where the PDP has won and give a false sense of credit to their party where they rig. It happened before in Ondo State, where most of those who claimed to be election monitors in 2007, are now top appointees of the government of the day.
“Today, they are out on the same mission again but we will not accept such any longer and INEC has the duty to tell the world what qualifies one as an observer or election monitor, because we are already foreseeing a situation where fake results will be posted on the website to mislead Nigerians even before INEC declares results.
“We are following up and we call on INEC to be up to the task of ridding polling units of anti-democratic forces, who are out discredit the outcome of the elections generally, because those who think they are popular should try and appeal to the conscience of the people and get to office rather than use dubious means to grab power.
“In most of the states in the South-West, we have received reports from our field officers about party members wearing fake badges as observers and monitors. Such badges are quite different from those issued by INEC as they are either not laminated or without authorising signatures on them,” Oke reiterated.
In one of the states in the South-West, for instance, Nigerian Tribune observed that a House of Assembly aspirant, who failed to clinch the ticket of his party, was putting on an unsigned tag with ‘local observer’ inscribed on it.
A similar situation was also seen at a local government headquarters, where about six associates of a campaign coordinator of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, as well as an aide to a state commissioner in one of the states in the South-West wore similar badges.
Nonetheless, chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, said his agency was on top of the situation.
Chief Press Secretary to Jega, Mr Kayode Idowu, spoke on behalf of his boss.
“This is a time a lot of allegations and counter allegations will fly; this is not different at all. But what I can tell you is that all INEC-accredited monitors or election observers are on the commission’s website.
“If and when INEC discovers that there are such as being alleged, I can assure you that they will not go unpunished; they will face the full wrath of the law. Apart from that, Nigerians are advised to shun any result posted on any website except that which INEC declares,” Jega’s spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN), on Tuesday, expressed the belief that Nigeria was on track, in spite of the shift in dates of the general election by the INEC.
UN spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, United States, on the sidelines of the daily briefing of the global body.
“We are aware of the postponement and we are sure that things are on track,” he stated.
Nesirky said the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, had reaffirmed his confidence in the progress achieved by Nigeria in consolidating democracy since 1999.
Ban had, in a statement issued on the eve of the first rescheduled National Assembly election, expressed the hope that the forthcoming polls would meet the high expectations of Nigerians and the international community
that unaccredited local observers are on the prowl.
This is coming on the heels of intelligence reports in security circles about the proliferation of such observer groups, allegedly bankrolled by a former governor in a South-West state.
Already, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm that such fake election monitors or observers have hatched plots to circulate misleading results, particularly in the South-West part of the country ahead of the release of authentic results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
A top security official, who craved anonymity told the Nigerian Tribune that both the State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigeria Police would be involved in what he called a ‘monitoring task force’ to ensure that election monitors were not only INEC-accredited, but also that their “membership, leadership and sponsors would be thoroughly vetted to ensure easy combing.”
INEC said, although it had records of all accredited election monitors, unaccredited ones would be handed over to relevant security agencies for prosecution.
But our source said: “We are already aware of the development before the report you are referring to; we are on top of the situation nationwide, because it is our duty to ensure that we verify thoroughly and vet clinically to unravel those behind these groups, I mean their membership, leadership, sponsors and intents through our monitoring task force.
“This is the only way to ensure easy combing of the entire country, particularly the polling units where they intend to monitor. Not only are we going to confirm whether or not they are duly accredited by INEC, we shall go the extra mile and anyone found culpable shall not be spared at all,” he said.
Putting the buck on the table of INEC, PDP’s National Legal Adviser, Chief Olusola Oke, in a telephone interview, said the nation’s electoral body had a responsibility to identify the genuine observers and monitors, saying, apart from the logistic challenges of INEC, it must guard against attempts to discredit the process.
“The INEC has a huge task ahead apart from the few hitches here and there because we have noticed that some opposition parties have already positioned some of their members as election monitors and observers, particularly in the South-West states.
“We have seen prominent members of a ruling party in one of the states, for instance, who are posing as election monitors and observers; their intention is clear and unambiguous.
“It is to discredit the outcome of elections where the PDP has won and give a false sense of credit to their party where they rig. It happened before in Ondo State, where most of those who claimed to be election monitors in 2007, are now top appointees of the government of the day.
“Today, they are out on the same mission again but we will not accept such any longer and INEC has the duty to tell the world what qualifies one as an observer or election monitor, because we are already foreseeing a situation where fake results will be posted on the website to mislead Nigerians even before INEC declares results.
“We are following up and we call on INEC to be up to the task of ridding polling units of anti-democratic forces, who are out discredit the outcome of the elections generally, because those who think they are popular should try and appeal to the conscience of the people and get to office rather than use dubious means to grab power.
“In most of the states in the South-West, we have received reports from our field officers about party members wearing fake badges as observers and monitors. Such badges are quite different from those issued by INEC as they are either not laminated or without authorising signatures on them,” Oke reiterated.
In one of the states in the South-West, for instance, Nigerian Tribune observed that a House of Assembly aspirant, who failed to clinch the ticket of his party, was putting on an unsigned tag with ‘local observer’ inscribed on it.
A similar situation was also seen at a local government headquarters, where about six associates of a campaign coordinator of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, as well as an aide to a state commissioner in one of the states in the South-West wore similar badges.
Nonetheless, chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, said his agency was on top of the situation.
Chief Press Secretary to Jega, Mr Kayode Idowu, spoke on behalf of his boss.
“This is a time a lot of allegations and counter allegations will fly; this is not different at all. But what I can tell you is that all INEC-accredited monitors or election observers are on the commission’s website.
“If and when INEC discovers that there are such as being alleged, I can assure you that they will not go unpunished; they will face the full wrath of the law. Apart from that, Nigerians are advised to shun any result posted on any website except that which INEC declares,” Jega’s spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN), on Tuesday, expressed the belief that Nigeria was on track, in spite of the shift in dates of the general election by the INEC.
UN spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, United States, on the sidelines of the daily briefing of the global body.
“We are aware of the postponement and we are sure that things are on track,” he stated.
Nesirky said the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, had reaffirmed his confidence in the progress achieved by Nigeria in consolidating democracy since 1999.
Ban had, in a statement issued on the eve of the first rescheduled National Assembly election, expressed the hope that the forthcoming polls would meet the high expectations of Nigerians and the international community
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