2023 Elections: “The Judiciary Needs To Demonstrate Courage”– Mike Igini Emphasises

*Says He Would Heavily Participate in Voters Education In Preparation For 2023 Elections
*Says By Law, Candidates Need No Permit From Police To Hold Rallies

The immediate past Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom, Mike Igini, has bared his mind on various issues including the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) ahead of the 2023 general elections and the role the judiciary and the entire citizenry has to play in the upcoming general elections.

In an interview with sun news online, Igini stated he that he would maintain neutrality on issues and matters pertaining to the 2023 elections. Speaking about what role he would play leading up to the election, he said that he would concentrate his efforts towards voters education and enlightenment. ”

l will in the days and weeks ahead through various  public lectures invite, educate and guide Nigerian citizens on the various provisions of the 2022 Act and more importantly what they should know about  the various innovations that will secure their votes. Just last Thursday, on 22nd Of September, the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Organized a Roundtable civic public lecture; l participated as one of the speakers on the topic: Electoral Democracy In Nigeria: Challenges And Opportunities in the new 2022 Electoral Act . In this regard, we join in the efforts to clear some of the fears and doubts that are deliberately being created to dissuade or discourage people from participating in elections in the country”, he said.

He went on to speak on the law governing the campaign of candidates relying on his experience as former RECA, stating tha virtue of the Electoral Act, 2022 candidates had access to public facilities and media platforms, such as publicly owned venues and event centres like stadia, civic centers that may be used as venues for rallies or other such political events, as well as access to publicly owned media platforms and also provisions for equal airtime parity for candidates at prime time news slots. He also stated that the law did frown on the use of hate speech as a medium of campaigning.

He went on to remark on the reports over the past years that has shown how political aspirants have been hindered in their access to the public facilities for campaign, sometimes by policemen. According to him, this is not the provisions of the law, and that by law, the police are expected to provide security for rallies and candidates need not take permission. His words read thus: “I have read some of these reports and its quite unfortunate that political intolerance is already being exhibited, and more disturbing if not worrisome, is the report concerning the action of policemen that are statutorily mandated under the new Act to always provide adequate  security for political  rallies and processions for political parties and their candidates upon notice of such rallies. In fact, section 91 emphatically says the Commissioner of Police in each state shall provide adequate protection for political rallies and shall be supported by personnel of the Nigerian  Civil Defence Corp.

In fact, I’m shocked to read some of these reports that you have referenced because subsection (4) of this section itself says and l quote “No registered political party in Nigeria , its aspirants or candidate shall be prevented from holding rallies, procession or meeting at any time for their constitutional political purposes and the police shall resolve any conflict of time and venue between and amongst parties where such arises in a consultative manner and not imposition. Barring whatever l may have omitted, those are words of the 2022 Electoral Act that must be adhered to.”

As to his expectations of the judiciary in the upcoming election, Igini charged the judiciary to display courage by interpreting the provisions of the Electoral Act strictly in order to give meaning and purpose to the ballot as the best means of the expression of the will of the people and thus hold both the political parties and the Election Management Body (EMB) accountable where there are violations and breach of the laws. According to him: “The starting point of demonstrating judicial courage and commitment to electoral justice would be the ongoing pre-election cases that emanated from the party primaries in the various federal High courts across the country. We are all witnesses to the impunity of political leaders imposition of individuals that didn’t participate and emerged from party primaries monitored by INEC in line with section 84 of the 2022 Act and the shocking decisions coming from the courts at the moment. Let me be clear, the way and manner our colleagues in the bench handle these matters will give Nigerians insight to how the judiciary will deal with the outcome of 2023 election petitions. The question on the lips of Nigerians now is, will our judges pander to vested political interests or stand on the side of strict interpretation of the provisions of the 2022 Act, Regulations & Guidelines of INEC and uphold the rule of law for the growth and sustenance of our democracy?”

Furthermore, Igini bemoaned that Nigeria’s problem has always been the greed of leadership which has resulted in no significant shift and stability in 62 years of her existence. He also stated that INEC’s innovations are designed to give meaning and purpose to the ballot as the best means of the expression of the will of the people in a democracy, as well as intend to compel those who seek to govern them pay attention to their needs because leadership is about relationship and service. He went on to note that Nigeria’s diversity had the power to make or mar the nation, and urged that the citizens acknowledge their diversities as it was a key to peaceful coexistence because it reduces opportunistic behavior amongst diverse people and promote harmony of interest of constituents.

According to him, leaders must find common grounds to build a peaceful community by resolving problems on the basis of principles, not positions, thus putting the country on the part toward social harmony. He went to charge that Nigerians remain hopeful and optimistic and utilize 2023 to elect a few that would change the country. Emphasizing the role of citizens in the General elections, Igini noted thus: “The people have a role to play but unfortunately, poverty and the level of understanding of what their role should be is a problem, that is why they sell their votes during election. Otherwise leadership is a web of mutual responsibility and collaboration, a seamless partnership and  a mutual commitment for common good. People or citizens should not be treated by politicians as people to be brought on Election Day or as mere followers of the vision and values of leaders but as participants in creating them.”

He went on to note that leaders demanding for loyalty to themselves and not the country was an unfortunate situation and a clear indication of lack of understanding of what they are demanding from those appointed to serve public interest, as according to him, loyalty is not demanded but given to those who have earned it.

Reacting to the responsibility of INEC and some dissatisfaction expressed by Nigerians towards the commission, Igini pointer out thus: “the commission is the most innovative and improved public service delivery agency in Nigeria even though we are still not where we want to be  in delivery of credible elections. We are aware that various books on quality service prescribed that the  first step in quality-planning process is identifying customers and finding out what their needs are and satisfy them. This is what the commission has been doing and if elected, political office holders that made promises on the basis of which they were elected fulfill their commitment; the people will be happy. Elected and appointed public office holders must commit to what the Nigerian people want and treat them as customers that must be satisfied.”

He went on to state that “Leadership is intangible and a performing art that can be felt by the people; its  an encounter in an interaction with another human being.  It is about  performances and experiences and not objects. Service is intangible but it can be measured through the expressed satisfaction of the people”, and this was why Nigerians must elect credible leaders.

On what was the most needed quality in leadership, Igini stated thus: “credibility is the foundation on which leaders and the people build grand dreams of the future; without credibility, vision will fade and relationship between the people and leaders will wither. That is why an American writer and businessman, Max De Pree, Chairman of Herman Miller, said that “the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of a successful leader”. Perhaps, l should add that of all the attributes of credibility, one that is unquestionably of greatest importance is the dimension of honesty. It accounts for more of the variance for believability of all other attributes such as competence, skills, character  combined. Being seen as someone who can be trusted, high integrity, honest and truthful is essential.” He went on to note that promoting and electing thugs to power would only result in culture of violence to governance and society will continue to regress.

According to the Former REC, Nigeria as a society is under moral and ethical recession; no sense of shame anymore and there is a dearth of role models and that is why people in public office don’t care about reputation. He went on to remark on how the country can break the distrust in public institutions thus: “To deal with crisis of cynicism and confidence, we must first and foremost find out the root cause of declining confidence by the public on our leaders and institutions.
We need to recalibrate on how we can recover from integrity and credibility recession. A society where there is no sense of shame over wrongdoing and where  impunity appears to have been accepted as a norm instead of exception is not a viable one and may not endure for long.” He opined that for Nigeria to succeed as a people and a country in public service delivery, there is need to attract and retain the most competent and qualified citizens as well as need to build a society in which everyone can contribute his or her best, a society in which everyone is valued by competences regardless of differences in ethnicity and religion, as competence and a  merit based system remain our unbeatable formula for success. He also emphasized categorically, that leadership had to ensure that there was unity in Nigeria’s diversity.

On a final note, Igini remarked on how constructive criticism was good, and how leaders needed to surround themselves with people that would tell them the honest truth for them to improve themselves.