Fifteen thousand security operatives have been deployed in all the nooks and crannies of Bayelsa state to ensure the success of today’s poll.
The police alone deployed 10,000 men for the exercise while its sister agencies provided the additional five thousand men. The extra security measures being put in place it was gathered was because of the peculiarity of its terrain.
Also, the anti bomb squad units drawn from neighbouring Delta and Rivers states have been dispatched to the state to complement the strength of the officers and men on ground to ensure a hitch-free exercise. The state police commissioner, Mr. Chris Olakpe who spoke to newsmen in Yenagoa said his command would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the safety of the citizenry and protection of election materials.
He said given the peculiarity of the state, the command had made available boats for the easy movement of its personnel across the creeks and rivulets in the state adding that security operatives will be available to man each and every booth.
“Due to the terrain of the state, we have enough boats to move out to the creeks so that before the election, every polling booth will be manned. We have deployed our men. We will count gains and not losses in this election, even thereafter”, he said.
Peculiarity of the Bayelsa terrain
Bayelsa State is located in the Southern flank of Nigeria, on the coast and between Delta State and Rivers State. The state was carved out of old Rivers State in 1996 making it one of the newest states of the Nigerian federation. It is rich in oil and gas but is one of the least developed states in the federation due largely to the mismanagement of its resources by its leaders.
Bayelsa has a riverine setting.About eighty five percent of her communities are almost (and in some cases) completely surrounded by water, hence making these communities inaccessible by road. Indigenes of some of the far-flung communities on the Atlantic fringe prefer travelling to neighbouring West African countries such as Gabon to trade due to their proximity instead of coming to Yenagoa the state capital.
This is the scenario that the Independent National Electoral Commission would have to contend with if the outcome of the poll is to be ready within twenty four hours .
We are ready for poll- JEGA
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Wednesday met with stakeholders including governorship candidates of the various political parties in the state declaring its readiness to conduct today’s poll.
The meeting which was held at the Bayelsa State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists had in attendance the INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, the state Resident Electoral Commission, Edwin Nwalatari, senior officials of the commission, candidates of the various political parties and their chairmen and representatives of the security agencies among others.
The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Edwin Nwatalari who set the ball rolling said the commission attaches much importance to the conduct of the governorship poll in the state due to the peculiarity of the terrain and the people.
Declaring that the conduct of the Adamawa State governorship poll has raised the bar for many states, he urged all stakeholders to ensure that the Bayelsa poll is conducted in peaceful manner and made to be the best above that of Adamawa.
Some of the governorship candidates argued that the opposition parties desired a change in the leadership of the state electoral commission, the participation of all governorship candidates in the monitoring of voting materials and the restriction of police and military men serving as agents to the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party during the election.
Earlier, the Chairman of the INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega had said the meeting was to notify the political parties about the commission’s preparation noting that the commission had in the last few months been involved in putting processes in place to instil confidence and transparency into the electoral process.
He said over the years, the nation had been bedevilled by its inability to conduct free and fair elections and strengthen democratic processes but that the situation had change since the present INEC came on board.
“Since we came in as a commission, we have tried our best to conducting free and fair elections. We have paid attention to training, voters’ education, election security and many other innovations in the electoral process. We thank God that during the April Elections of 2011, it was generally acknowledged that we tried our best to raise the bar and bring credibility into the electoral process when we compare what happened in April to what happened in the past. We all acknowledge that what we did in April was not perfect but we have devoted lots of time learning from the mistakes of the past.”
Jega disclosed that commission has set for itself some level of impartiality and has learned from past mistakes.
He said, “the Kogi election was adjudged the best but it was not perfect. Again we had another in Adamawa State every participants declared that it was the best so far. We are ready in Bayelsa and with all available logistics; we will make it the best. Both sensitive and non_sensitive will be moved to their destinations early to make it be at different units by 8am.”
INEC challenges
Prof Jega lamented that the commission has being able to prosecute only 200 electoral offenders since the April 2011 election, a development he said was far short of the expectations of Nigerians.
The INEC boss who disclosed that over 870,000 unscrupulous Nigerians were involved in multiple registrations making it herculean task for the commission to handle lamented the inability of the latter to check electoral malpractices through the prosecution of electoral offenders due to constraints experienced in the constitutional provision and poor gathering of evidences against multitude of Nigerians indicted during the 2011 elections.
He said though the Commission had succeeded in prosecuting over 200 persons for various electoral offences, the failures of existing courts to accelerate prosecution of offenders, the lack of an Election Offenders Tribunal, the non_availability of legal teams and the lacklustre attitude of the Nigerian Police to investigate allegations against offenders have contributed to the failures recoded in the prosecution of thousands of indicted offenders.
According to him, it was only the immediate implementation of the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Committee report on the setting up of a Special Election Prosecution Tribunal that would help ensure the quick prosecution of indicted offenders, including a serving Senator from Bayelsa State who was indicted in the 2011 National Assembly election in the state.
“It is true that on the issue of the prosecution of electoral offenders, INEC has disappointed lots of Nigerians. I had promised that we will prosecute electoral offenders. I meant it and the commission meant it. We have done our best and as I speak with you now, we have prosecuted over 200 successfully,” he said.
Continuing he said, “on voters’ registration offenders alone, we have over 870,000 multiple registration offenders. We have no capacity in INEC to prosecute such number. We cannot do it with the legal department we have, even if it is the only work they do.
“Besides, if you know prosecution successes is a combination of many things. The police have to do investigation. Then we have to prosecute with lawyers. The electoral Act says INEC can now prosecute but then the court has their own role to play and they are overcrowded. You will go to court three times and they will continue adjourning these cases.
“So to be honest with you, we have done our best, but it has come clearly to us that we don’t have the strength and we have been telling everyone that perhaps the best way to deal with cases of prosecution of electoral offenders is to go back to the Justice Mohammed Electoral Reform Committee report to establish a special election offences tribunal whose business will be to prosecute electoral offenders.”
Jega said “the existing laws saddled the INEC with the prosecution of electoral offenders and the commission will do it to the best of our knowledge.”
He informed that the commission has entered into partnership with the Nigerian Bar Association, “if we want sanity in the electoral processes we need to deal with impunity. Politicians commit offences with impunity. And they have to be prosecuted and to prosecute, you must have evidence.
“Like the Senator from Bayelsa, there was Prima Facie case against him and I reported to the security agencies. The next issue should have been prosecution but the police and security should have done theirs. INEC should not be blamed for it. People should know where to assign responsibility.”
On litigations over the internal crisis in the in Bayelsa PDP over issue of candidate for the poll
Jega insisted that the position of the commission was guided by law and the advice of learned Legal practitioners for the commission.
“INEC is a law abiding organisation. Since we came in INEC, we have a full complement of legal services department with very experience lawyers. We also have a legal consortium with Four Senior Advocate of Nigeria. And everything we do, we seek their opinion. The problem with legal services in Nigeria is that every lawyer you consult gives you a different opinion.”
“In every litigation we have taken, our position has always been guided by the best interest of the country and how to improve the electoral process. We rely on the advice of our in_house lawyers and the advice of our legal consortium. This case you mention, both our in_house lawyers and legal consortium were united on the position we have taken. If the Court reverses it, we will obey.
“We believe we have not taken any wrong decision in this regard and if anyone feel we have done wrong and he or she wants to contest it in court, it is fine. As far as we are concerned we have taken a good legal position on the basis of proper guidance and advice. If you are a lawyer and have contrary opinion, that is a totally different matter and you are not our advisers.” Culled from Vanguard
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