Posted by From FRANCIS AWOWOLE-BROWNE and ISMAIL OMIPIDAN Abuja on
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) Thursday criticised the resolution of the Senate to probe its finances, alleging that the lawmakers were up to some mischief to ridicule the commission just because some of them lost in their bid for re-election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) Thursday criticised the resolution of the Senate to probe its finances, alleging that the lawmakers were up to some mischief to ridicule the commission just because some of them lost in their bid for re-election.
Chairman of the commission, Professor Maurice Iwu, who expressed reservation at the planned probe, disclosed that he was under pressure to cancel the presidential election so as to pave the way for an Interim National Government being canvassed by opposition parties and civil society groups.
His assertion comes as the Senate President, Ken Nnamani declared that the outcome of the panel probing how INEC used the money appropriated to it to conduct the 2007 polls would put an end to fairy tale elections in Nigeria, even as the Committee Chairman, Senator Emmanuel Agboti said his committee was not interested in the quality of the conduct of the polls but to find out how the funds appropriated to it was expended.
Nnamani, who was represented by Senator Victor Oyofo, made the declaration Thursday while inaugurating the Senate joint committee carrying out the probe on INEC. He also said that the outcome of the investigation would assist in-coming lawmakers to carry out the required reform on the electoral law.
According to him, the 2007 polls were conducted with tax payers' money and as such, they need to know how the money was spent.
Receiving a group of Ohaneze Ndigbo youths led by Casmir Uche, in his office in Abuja, the INEC chairman said he had been approached on several occasion by some groups, whom he did not name, to cancel the results of both the governorship and the presidential elections, a request he said he had turned down.
Iwu, reacting to the decision of the upper legislative body to set up a probe on an estimated 17 billion Naira allegedly approved for the conduct of the controversial elections, reasoned that the legislators must be up to something because "the time left for the Senate to do the job was not enough."
According to him: "The probe is a hatchet job. If for instance we gave 1000 contracts and somebody wants all the documents in one week, you will know that there will not be any fairness in such an exercise.
"Anyway we are ready to assist them, we are not distracted or disturbed. We are to be probed anytime. They are doing their constitutional work, we appreciate that, but it will not be fair to probe INEC in one week, when the electoral process is not yet over."
The INEC boss maintained that though in principle, the body could not question the right of the Senate to exercise its function of oversight over its expenditure, the electoral process was still on-going and the ad-hoc staff are yet to be fully paid.
Besides, INEC said it smells a rat as to why the Senate wanted an urgent probe of the body when the internal and external audit mechanism were yet to take place.
He added: "a lot of heavyweights lost elections, and we don't expect them to praise us. In football, those who lose matches sometime join the fans in beating up the umpires. There may be some senators who feel bad that they did not win elections. But I have a wonderful relationship with the senators including the President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani and the Speaker. But I speak as INEC chairman and INEC as a body has serious reservation about this probe"
The commission chairman assured that it will soon begin the prosecution of electoral offenders, around the country.
He particularly spoke about the opposition in Enugu State, who successfully restrained the distribution of electoral material stored at the Central Bank, Enugu , until they were dispersed by a combined team of soldiers and mobile policemen.
According to Iwu, " some people made efforts to frustrate our careful plans to conduct free, fair and credible elections and were caught. The commission will prosecute them. Like in Enugu where we were prevented from distributing electoral materials and the people later turned round to accuse us of not distributing same, the commission intends to try those people, to prosecute them in line with the law.
"Like the issue of ballot paper snatching, we have compiled the list of offenders. We will prosecute them regardless of the person's position in the society; we will try anybody who tried to sabotage the electoral process or indeed, sabotaged it."
On the issue of Interim National Government being canvassed in some quarters, Iwu said the electoral body was opposed to it because it was unconstitutional and would only bring the country backward.
"What they are calling for has no place in our constitution and no one will use me to achieve that. I refuse to be used to cancel the election. Nigerians are united in showing that they prefer democracy," he argued.
Professor Iwu urged Nigerians not to lose sleep over May 29 handover, saying "Nigerians should not lose the historic significance of the development," saying it will be the first time the country will transit from a democratic regime to another in the long history of the nation's independence.
Earlier, the leader of the group, Uche defended the position of the commission on the elections and condemned the attacks on the person of the INEC chairman and the commission saying, INEC deserved commendation for conducting the elections.