Tag: Tonnie Iredia

Last week, Nigeria successfully recorded 3 events that greatly excited many citizens. They were obviously events that many people must have wished could continue without stop. One of them was the conviction and imprisonment of Ignatius Uduk, a professor at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO)who was found guilty of electoral malpractices.  Uduk, who served as a returning officer during the 2019 general elections in Essien Udim State Constituency, was specifically indicted for announcing and publishing false election results. This makes it 2, the number of professors that have so far been convicted for electoral fraud. The first conviction which took place in 2021, was that of one Peter Ogban, a professor of soil science, at the same UNIUYO, and a returning officer in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom North-West District. He was jailed for tampering with election results.

The apparent implication of the development is that it is not every professor that has integrity. The unending examination malpractices in different universities in the country ought to have been a reminder to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to be circumspect in appointing just any professor and other academics to the sensitive assignments of conducting different segments of elections. It is in fact worse that many of those who get appointed to do the job patently lobbied for it. In other words, they had ulterior motives in seeking to be part of the sensitive assignments – the appointment of such ‘hustlers’ is an incurable risk. It is therefore hoped that INEC will depart from its fixation that academics are necessarily the best hands in the management of elections.

Some professors may be excellent but there are others that are deficient in character.  But who were the beneficiaries of the fraud committed by Uduk and Ogban? Was any effort made to search for what such beneficiaries did to the professors that pushed them into the temptation of electoral fraud? Did our security agencies try to identify the quantum of material benefits which beneficiaries offered the convicts? These questions are relevant if indeed, the nation is really anxious to reduce electoral frauds. Not much can be

gained through scapegoating or complete focus on election officials with no attempt to investigate those who initiated the fraud and for whose sake others committed electoral malpractices. If such beneficiaries who successfully coerced professors into doing wrong were prosecuted would they not have also compromised judges?

From what history suggests, the beneficiaries may never have been arrested at all but if they had been held and allowed to face prosecution, it is more likely that they would have wriggled out of the case. But if some of them had been unlucky to face trial before Justices Agustine Odokwo and Bassey Nkanang and perhaps a few other credible judges, they would have been in jail by now.  The point to be made therefore is that Nigerians are excited to see that the judiciary we have all been blasting for some time now still has judges that are forthright. Such judges are the ones to be rewarded for genuine and committed performance instead of those who are being favoured simply because they are friends and or relations of top political office-holders.

However, there is need to recall that what gave room for the judges to excel was the presence in INEC at the time of Mike Igini the most credible Resident Electoral Commissioner of the decade. If Igini who was in charge of elections in Akwa Ibom State had like some of colleagues allowed himself to be compromised, there would have been no trial of electoral fraudsters anywhere. Otherwise, how do we explain the fact that despite the numerous electoral infractions in different parts of the country, it was only in Akwa Ibom that actors were made to account for their deeds. Although everyone knew Mike Igini to be incorruptible, he was not rewarded with a reappointment to the headquarters of INEC as a national commissioner. Instead, political party chieftains prayed daily for his exit. Is it not persons of exemplary conduct that deserve renewal of appointment?

Another major landmark of the week was the request by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Senate to approve the termination of the appointment of 3 Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs namely: Yunusa Ari (Adamawa) Nura Ali (Sokoto) and Ike Uzochukwu (Abia). The 3 RECs had been accused of false declaration of election results as well as bribery and corruption. Nigerians are happy that the accused persons are finally being held accountable and are in fact currently facing prosecution. But will the judges handling their cases be as diligent and forthright as the Akwa Ibom judges? If not, our current celebration may be cut short if the prosecution of the suspects is allowed to be marred by nebulous charges. It is not unusual to find a situation where it is the prosecution itself that helps to frustrate the trial of some accused persons. Until the prosecution of the 3 former RECs ends, not much can be said for now.

The last of the 3 exciting events also concerns the role of President Tinubu in intervening to stop embarrassing conflicts. This time around, there is electrifying joy in the decision of the president to sack two Vice Chancellors and to reshuffle the governing councils of some tertiary institutions. The most remarkable of the events is the sacking of Professor Aisha Maikudi who was described by many university professors of her University of Abuja as not qualified to become Vice Chancellor. At a point Forty-three (43) Senate members of the University raised concerns over her controversial appointment, citing manipulation of the selection process. In an open letter to the President in his capacity as the Visitor to the institution, the Senate members called for the immediate dissolution of the University’s Governing Council in view of widespread irregularities, which they claimed undermined not only the credibility of the VC’s appointment but also the integrity of the institution.

The grave allegations in the open letter included ‘several key issues, such as improper composition of the Governing Council, breaches in appointment guidelines, intimidation and harassment of Senate members, and a flawed, rushed selection process.’ Tinubu’s decision to sack the Vice Chancellor has exceedingly

calmed frayed nerves according to some staff of the university. In particular, it appears a wise decision to have also appointed a new acting Vice Chancellor and provided a space of 6 months for normalcy to return to the campus. As if to avoid a repeat of the lack of level playing field for applicants seeking to be VC, the president has directed that the new acting VC shall not be eligible to apply. Tinubu has taken similar steps in some other institutions especially the University of Nigeria Nsukka whose acting VC was similarly sacked just as the governing council was virtually reconstituted.

While commending the President for his interventions in the crises in the universities, it is a matter for regret that the appointment of VCs has of recent taken the same tempo as the selection of a political party flag bearer for an election through party primaries. The implication of this is that virtually everything in Nigeria has become politicised. The president may become distracted if it becomes one of his routine schedules to resolve conflicts in academic institutions in the country. To get away from this distraction, the president must conclude his present intervention by penalizing all those involved. Sacking the VCs involved is good but not enough. Members of affected governing councils should not just be rotated; those responsible for the crises must be visibly sanctioned.

Another remarkable thing that government must do with universities is to appoint knowledgeable members to their councils. The opportunity should not be used to reward party chieftains who are not qualified either in character or learning to be elevated into the policy making cadre of academic bodies. Otherwise, universities would become trading centres and avenues for contract awards which are the only things that can satisfy the avarice of politicians. There is also the need to stretch an intervening hand to Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs where many persons are currently appointed into technocrat positions for which they are ill-equipped. Politicians have no business being part of day to day running of government bodies, they should be part time board members if we want peace in our public organizations that can

Another remarkable thing that government must do with universities is to appoint knowledgeable members to their councils. The opportunity should not be used to reward party chieftains who are not qualified either in character or learning to be elevated into the policy making cadre of academic bodies. Otherwise, universities would become trading centres and avenues for contract awards which are the only things that can satisfy the avarice of politicians. There is also the need to stretch an intervening hand to Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs where many persons are currently appointed into technocrat positions for which they are ill-equipped. Politicians have no business being part of day to day running of government bodies, they should be part time board members if we want peace in our public organizations that can sustain the joyous mood of the last one week.

Some years back, it was common practice among members of Nigeria’s former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to describe their political party as the largest in Africa. None of us outside the party bothered to authenticate the claim. Perhaps some people just believed it because the party was Nigeria’s biggest, judging by the overwhelming number of elected political office holders it produced from the level of a local council to the presidency.

Indeed, the PDP won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. At a point, its party chieftains boasted that their party would rule Nigeria for a minimum of 50 years. But the PDP which is visibly an atomistic entity – one that is permanently at war with itself, would incur huge challenges.

In the last 6 years, the PDP, now in the opposition, has been embroiled in one crisis or another which it has been unable to resolve. To start with, the party behaves as if it relishes being a headless body as it always rubbishes every chairman it has had.  Although some members imagined their founding chairman, Solomon Lar to be too charismatic to be rubbished out of office, his tenure was not hitch free. The harassments of his successors spoke volumes.  Barnabas Gemade, Audu Ogbeh, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Vincent Ogbulafor, Adamu Muazu, Uche Secondus together with the indomitable Ahmadu Ali (the Garrison Commander) were all virtually rubbished.  Thus, PDP members do not appear conscious of the adverse effects of a headless body; otherwise with what does such a body think?

Whereas some PDP members often greatly disagreed with critics such as this columnist for calling them out, each time they displayed political immaturity, intolerance and avoidable tension, we have since been proven correct by the unending crises in the party. The case of chairman Bamanga Tukur was particularly annoying as party executives gave him sleepless nights for attempting to reform their palpably corrupt national secretariat. In 2015, the late media icon, Raymond Dokpesi was appointed to chair a committee to rebrand

the party ahead of its national conference. Dokpesi’s speech at the conference which was well attended by many was titled “PDP is not dying and certainly will not die.” If Dokpesi’s team successfully allayed public fears of a one-party state, this column projected other observations.

First, as large as the forum was, it was different from the usual flamboyance of the PDP. The normal bright colours of the party were not there; Abuja was not brought to a standstill as the party was used to doing whenever it organized any activity in the past. The paucity of media coverage was also observed as only Dokpesi’s Africa Independent Television gave the event partial LIVE transmission which was interrupted at a point and replaced by the coverage of another event – the 7th Anniversary of Edo governor Adams Oshiomhole. Could it be that the PDP did not have the financial muscle to sustain a LIVE coverage?  Again, I didn’t see party leaders such as former President Goodluck Jonathan, his former Vice, Namadi Sambo, Alex Ekwueme, Ken Nnamani, David Mark and the popular leader Anthony Anenih who had been advertised as confirmed participants at the conference.

The national executive of the party later distanced itself from Dokpesi’s earlier apology for what he called the party’s past mistakes. The then national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, later told the media that Dokpesi’s apology was his personal opinion. Unfortunately, Dokpesi’s posture was more realistic as Nigerians often showed that they deprecated PDP’s attitude of self-denial. The party being a human organization that is not infallible made so many mistakes in its 16-year rule; a notable example being its constant effort of sweeping issues of public interest under the carpet. Allegations concerning the inappropriate purchase of armoured vehicles and the daily hiring of private aircraft against two influential female ministers were similarly discountenanced by the then PDP government.

A party that lacks unity of direction would always have crisis and PDP has since had too many. At different times, it lost powerful chieftains. One reason the party lost the 2015 general election was a sudden defection of its governors in 5 states namely: Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). The then Jigawa governor, Sule Lamido managed to remain but the way his own presidential ambition was thwarted particularly, the coincidence of the pursuit of his children for corruption charges as soon as he announced his presidential bid was irritating. A dramatic example of all PDP losses was that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who publicly tore his PDP membership card in the presence of his party ward chairman and over 300 other members at a gathering in Abeokuta.

The 5 governors that left the PDP during Goodluck Jonathan’s administration were not the last to do so. Two others, Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) and Ben Ayade (Cross River) left PDP to join former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. Speculations that some incumbent PDP governors and other political office holders are working towards joining President Bola Tinubu’s administration may not be far-fetched. Researchers who may be interested in searching for what is repulsive in the PDP may begin by examining the high degree of self interest in the party. The general impression that Nigerian politicians often defect from their parties because such parties have no ideology needs to be further illuminated. Political office-holders defect to only the ruling parties while those who defect from the ruling parties are only searching for another platform that can guarantee their candidacy in future primaries

It is self-interest that explains the current controversies surrounding the office of the national secretary of the PDP. In other climes, political party executives would resign from office as soon as it becomes clear that they no longer enjoy the confidence of their members. But here, the PDP national secretary cannot see his

lack of popularity. He would rather wait for a court order and if what comes is not favourable, he would disobey and then embark on a long litigation process through the hierarchy of courts notwithstanding the turmoil in his party. His predecessor, Iyorcha Ayu did not leave office even though he had promised to do so if a northerner emerged from party primaries as presidential candidate. When will the current acting national chairman in the interest of party unity and progress, allow the appropriate zone to fill the position?

The PDP has continued to engage in circumlocution choosing different chieftains to resolve grievances of certain party members as if the main cause of the grievances is unknown. Everybody is blaming FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike as the cause of PDP’s problem but no one has the courage to suspend him. We hear Wike ought not to have accepted to serve in the APC government, but none of the reconciliation committees says anything about Wike’s defence that the party executive approved for him to take the post.  Another offence of Wike is that he spent huge sums of money building the party. What did other governors of the party do with their own money? A state governor is the official leader of the PDP in a state, why is the party unable to sanction all those disputing Governor Sim Fubara’s position in Rivers state?

PDP is the party that introduced zoning to Nigerian politics, but it is the only party that thinks it is in order to continue to support the emergence of only a Northern presidential candidate. By the time this happens again in 2027, PDP will give birth to many more reconciliation committees. After that, it will tell the nation that APC officials are the ones luring PDP members to the ruling party. In Edo state, Nigerians are being told that it is the APC that lured elected PDP councillors to disown their own chairmen and vice chairmen with whom they were jointly elected. Well, with continuing implosion, PDP leaders will not have to waste time claiming to be the largest in Africa; they will instead find out if anyone is still with them.

lack of popularity. He would rather wait for a court order and if what comes is not favourable, he would disobey and then embark on a long litigation process through the hierarchy of courts notwithstanding the turmoil in his party. His predecessor, Iyorcha Ayu did not leave office even though he had promised to do so if a northerner emerged from party primaries as presidential candidate. When will the current acting national chairman in the interest of party unity and progress, allow the appropriate zone to fill the position?

The PDP has continued to engage in circumlocution choosing different chieftains to resolve grievances of certain party members as if the main cause of the grievances is unknown. Everybody is blaming FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike as the cause of PDP’s problem but no one has the courage to suspend him. We hear Wike ought not to have accepted to serve in the APC government, but none of the reconciliation committees says anything about Wike’s defence that the party executive approved for him to take the post.  Another offence of Wike is that he spent huge sums of money building the party. What did other governors of the party do with their own money? A state governor is the official leader of the PDP in a state, why is the party unable to sanction all those disputing Governor Sim Fubara’s position in Rivers state?

PDP is the party that introduced zoning to Nigerian politics, but it is the only party that thinks it is in order to continue to support the emergence of only a Northern presidential candidate. By the time this happens again in 2027, PDP will give birth to many more reconciliation committees. After that, it will tell the nation that APC officials are the ones luring PDP members to the ruling party. In Edo state, Nigerians are being told that it is the APC that lured elected PDP councillors to disown their own chairmen and vice chairmen with whom they were jointly elected. Well, with continuing implosion, PDP leaders will not have to waste time claiming to be the largest in Africa; they will instead find out if anyone is still with them.