EMEKA NZE writes that since the Coalition for United Political Parties (CUPP) raised the alarm of alleged plot to sack the chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), suspend the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), well meaning Nigerians and groups have kicked against any such move while the commission seems determined in its resolve

CUPP’s alarm

Recently, Nigerians were greeted by news of alleged plot to sack the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), not for any wrong doing by him, but because “some anti democratic forces who are used to cutting corners”, allegedly took exception to his innovations already backed by law, empowering the electoral management body to organise free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

According to a body of opposition parties, the Coalition for United Political Parties (CUPP), these forces have allegedly concluded plans to effect the sack of the chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu as well as procure an injunction to jettison the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), now a legal instrument, simply because the technology will not allow for electoral ‘sharp practices’.

Mode of plot’s implementation

The CUPP also disclosed the modus operandi by the plotters of which is to use a secret court action to stop the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine in the upcoming 2023 general election.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the spokesperson of the opposition parties, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere said their vigilance team following credible intelligence discovered the Suit at the Owerri Federal High Court where it was filed since the 24th August, 2022.

The opposition parties also displayed extracts of the National Voters register which it claimed were part of at least 10 million fake registrations done by one of the political parties.

They alleged that the names were sourced from both within and outside Nigeria including some African countries such as Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Togo, Guinea, Gambia and countries outside Africa.

The CUPP further alleged that the Chairman of INEC Prof. Mahmood Yakubu was under pressure for the commission to announce a change to the commission’s stance on the compulsory use of the BVAS machine for accreditation or get sacked as Chairman of the commission.

“The intelligence CUPP intercepted which has led to the discovery of the suit filed seeking to nullify the BVAS and exposure of the massive compromise in the voters register cannot now be wrong that the third leg of the plot is to sack the National Chairman through a suspension as the plotters know they cannot get the required numbers from the National Assembly for an outright sack.”

CUPP lodges petitions in UK High commission, US embassy, others

The CUPP went ahead to lodge its complaint to the High Commission of United Kingdom, United States as well as embassies of the European Union in Abuja, saying that voters have been compromised ahead of the 2023 elections.

They also dropped a petition against the plot to sack the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and deactivate the BVAS from the commission’s server.

The spokesperson for the CUPP, Ikenga Ugochinyere, told journalists that they were demanding “global hunt down of the conspirators and their families with visa ban, freezing of assets freeze and arrest where possible.”

The CUPP also demanded firm action against the people who had held Nigeria and its 200 million citizens down.

“They perpetrate themselves in office through rigging, deny the people of their democratic choice, loot the common treasury and acquire property across the globe. If these properties are seized, they will learn their lessons,” Ugochinyere said.

Calling on all the foreign missions to keep a closer eye on Nigeria’s transition process, he warned that the plot to destabilise INEC could throw Nigeria into crisis which was capable of truncating the nation’s democracy and shattering West African regional peace.

The opposition leaders identified a controversial governor from the South-East as being the kingpin of the plot to undermine next year’s election, saying he initiated the underhand moves and sold the idea to the ruling party.

According to him, the intervention of the foreign missions is necessary to engender peaceful, acceptable, credible, free and fair election and also promote national security and the principles of participatory democracy and rule of law.

He expressed the belief that the foreign mission can wield enough pressure on the government to do the right thing and allow INEC to independently conduct the elections.

As if the CUPP discovery was not enough, another group The Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance, also organised a press conference where it asked the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to resign or be sacked.

Their main concern of the group  led by one Mohammed Adamu, was that the INEC chairman and his team were deliberately working against the interest of the north to suppress their votes.

Ex-REC Igini says BVAS raises hope for Nigeria

However, speaking in a recent interview with the ARISE television, a former Resident Electoral  commissioner, Mr Mike Igini said  suspending BVAS and reverting to old system will be anachronistic and against the law of the of land, especially, the Electoral Act 2022 on the method of voter accreditation during elections.

Mike Igini said, “the unnecessary call for removal of Mr Chairman could create a problem of distrust in the polity. We should stop that because under the constitution, the removal of the chairman or a commissioner for that matter is not an easy thing to be done.

“People should stop what they are doing. My way of advice is that as we are going for 2023 election, I see a great promise in 2023 on account of 2022 Electoral Act. The procedures of INEC that have been well secured and reinforced by INEC, is the use of the BVAS and all of that.

“In section 51, the act has addressed ‘they’ based on the number of accredited voters and not the total number of registered voters anymore. That window for rigging is gone. In Section 49, the previous act that had subsections have changed fundamentally under section 47 of the current act, in which case, no individual Nigerian can bypass the BVAS.

“Without BVAS, you can’t vote anymore, no incident form. So people are going to waste their money trying to buy voters. We are about to see the end of electoral rigging in Nigeria, we are about to see the end of political shenanigans in Nigeria”, Igini said.

Arewa Youth Consultative Forum warns against plot

Meanwhile, a group, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, has warned against any attempt to sack Yakubu ahead of the 2023 general elections across the country.

The AYCF criticised a group calling itself ‘Arewa Coalition’ for calling for the sack of the INEC boss, warning nothing should happen to the nation’s electoral body chairman.

AYCF’s National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima while addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Friday, said “as a group of progressive-minded advocates, we totally disagree with the so-called Arewa Coalition calling for the sack of the INEC National Chairman.”

According to him, Nigeria should forget about the call by the so-called ‘Arewa Coalition’, describing them “mere attention seekers masquerading as campaigners for electoral sanity and accountability in INEC.”

Shettima added that as result of the improved innovation brought about by the current INEC boss and his team, any call for his sack, was unacceptable.

NEYLC: move may lead to crisis

The Nigerian Ethnic Youths Leaders Council (NEYLC) also warned against the move to instigate National Assembly to remove the Prof. Yakubu as the INEC chairman and suspend the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in next year’s general elections.

The group, further warned that the move will cause electoral crisis in the country.

The group said, “According to the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the President can only remove the INEC Chairman on the strength of a recommendation by the Senate.

“The President will have to rely on the nod of two-thirds of members of the Senate, the nation’s highest law-making body to discipline INEC chairman.

But the NEYLC, which is made up of the Arewa Consultative Youths Movement (ACYM), Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths Movement, Oduduwa Youths and Middle Belt Youths, in a statement on Saturday by the Ohanaeze Youth Movement Secretary-General and Head of Coalition’s secretariat, Nwada Ikeamaka, said that the plan to use the Senate to shake Yakubu so that he could jettison the use of BVAS, may lead to electoral crisis.

INEC’s reaction

In a demonstration of courage and resoluteness during last week’s meeting with stakeholders namely: the political parties, the Civil Society Organisations, the media as well as the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), the INEC boss said, “On this note, let me once again reassure Nigerians that there is no going back on the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter accreditation. There is no going back on the transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real-time on Election Day.

“There will be no Incident Form that enables ineligible persons to vote using other people’s Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) during elections. We are committed to ensuring that the 2023 General Election is transparent and credible, reflecting the will of the Nigerian people,” Prof Yakubu said.