…As INEC Appeals for Peaceful Edo, Ondo Governorship Elections In 106 pages, the National Peace Committee (NPC) on Friday revealed that it faced significant pressure to intervene during the 2023 Presidential Election, with calls to halt the collation of results or cancel the election altogether. The disclosure was made public in Abuja during the presentation
…As INEC Appeals for Peaceful Edo, Ondo Governorship Elections
In 106 pages, the National Peace Committee (NPC) on Friday revealed that it faced significant pressure to intervene during the 2023 Presidential Election, with calls to halt the collation of results or cancel the election altogether.
The disclosure was made public in Abuja during the presentation of the NPC’s 106-page report on the 2023 General Election titled: “Nigeria’s Pursuit of Electoral Compliance: National Peace Committee NPC 2023 General Elections Report.”
Led by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Committee detailed the behind-the-scenes efforts by partisans and other unnamed entities to influence the electoral process.
The NPC is a non-governmental initiative conceptualized in 2014 in response to emerging threats occasioned by the 2015 general elections.
Its membership is made up of eminent elder statesmen who support free, fair, and credible elections and intervene in critical issues of national concern through high-level mediated and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Its mandate is centred on promoting peace and encouraging adherence to the rule of law, rather than taking any legal or punitive action.
The Committee’s report disclosed that both General Abdulsalami, the Convener Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and the Head of the NPC Secretariat, Fr. Atta Barkindo, were overwhelmed with calls and petitions demanding that the NPC urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop collation of the results due to alleged gross violations of the Electoral Act (EA) by political actors.
“As the election day progressed, criticisms and counter criticisms became abundant”, adding that: “The NPC was already being faced with a flurry of phone calls and the need to call INEC to order. The Peace Committee was flooded with requests for intervention.”
According to the report, the requests ranged from urging the NPC to halt the result collation to calling for the complete cancellation of the election, citing non-compliance with the Peace Accord signed by political leaders and their candidates.
The report noted that one of the most significant points of contention was the 25% threshold requirement for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). “Some of the analysts who reached out to the committee asked that the final election result should not be announced because the presumptive president-elect did not score the required 25% as stated in the Electoral Act,” the report highlighted.
The Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, among others, criticized the NPC’s silence despite the numerous election petitions and potential consequences. The Centre pointed out that the NPC had actively engaged political leaders on the need for peaceful and credible elections before the polls but had failed to issue a post-election statement addressing the outcome and the steps necessary to prevent violence.
But responding to the criticisms, the report clarified that the NPC’s role was purely moral and not constitutional. “The NPC has no mandate to arrest violators of process or interfere with the constitutional duties of INEC. It is set up to provide moral intervention, defined by mediation and moral persuasion to ensure that there is peace,” the report stated.
The report further elaborated on the limited awareness among Nigerians regarding the NPC’s role, which has led to questions about the significance of engaging with the Committee. “Most people are not aware that the NPC provides only a moral intervention, and it has no constitutional duty to arrest, punish or prosecute any citizen for any wrongdoing,” the report added.
INEC Appeals for Peaceful Polls in Edo, Ondo States
Meanwhile, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on the National Peace Committee (NPC) to support its appeal to stakeholders in the electoral process to allow for peaceful elections in Edo and Ondo states.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Friday appealed when he led a team of National Commissioners of the Commission to honour NPC’s invitation to brief the body on the Commission’s preparations for the two off-cycle governorship elections in the two states, which are 35 days and 91 days away respectively.
While appreciating the NPC for its contribution to peaceful elections, Prof. Yakubu noted that since its debut and support for peaceful elections, the Commission’s elections have become more peaceful than before. He urged the Committee not to relent in its peace efforts.
Speaking on preparations for the September and November elections, the INEC Chairman said the Commission had successfully undertaken nine out of 13 activities outlined in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Elections, which was released in September last year.
He said the next activity which is the 10th, would be carried out on Tuesday next week when the Commission will present the Register of Voters to all the political parties fielding candidates in Edo state.
His words: “All the activities that INEC is supposed to conduct have been conducted without hitches. Not one activity has been adjusted for one day. All these activities are going to coalesce on Election Day on the 21st of September and Election Day is beyond the responsibilities of INEC alone. The political parties, observers, the media, the security agencies, and everybody have a role to play.
“The biggest challenge we have been facing in the management of elections is what happens on Election Day. That is why the role of the National Peace Committee becomes pertinent in terms of appealing to all the actors, as we build up to the election, during the election, and also after the election”, he said.
On the Commission’s anticipated concerns ahead of the polls, the INEC Chairman raised the issue of the involvement of state-controlled security outfits, such as the Edo State Security Network, and possibly the Amotekun in Ondo state. But he explained that the Police in both states had given the assurance of their non-participation in the elections.
Another potential area of concern, he said, is the activities of non-state actors and armed groups, who can disrupt the peace and electoral process before it is concluded in the two States.
He said the Commission had raised such concerns at the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICESS) meeting held recently and would continue to engage with security agencies to get responses on what action has been taken.
Prof. Yakubu also spoke about the Commission’s strategy to ensure that citizens in Edo and Ondo States can pick up their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before the elections.
He affirmed that the Commission has printed the PVCs for 119, 000 new registrants and voters that made transfer requests or applied for replacement of lost or damaged cards.
He averred: “The total number of PVCs printed is 184,000 for all categories, and I am happy to say that all the cards have arrived in Edo State since Monday. They are currently being sorted out by Local Government, Ward, and polling unit.”
Speaking further on the PVCs, the INEC Chairman said personalized messages will be sent to the new registrants to pick up their cards, adding that the list of all new registrants in Edo state will be published on the Commission’s website by next week, to enable voters to check for where to collect their cards.
Members of the NPC present at the briefing include the Chairman, General Abdulsalam A. Abubakar (Rtd); its Convener, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah; His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; Professor Ameze Guobadia; Dame Priscilla Kuye; General Martin Luther Agwai (Rtd) CFR; and Professor Ibrahim Gambari CFR.
