The Nasarawa State chapter of the Congress for Progressive change (CPC) has petitioned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, asking him to immediately redeploy the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) over alleged partisanship.
State chairman of the party, Alhaji Hamidu Haruna, in a petition addressed to the INEC chairman accused the REC of “constantly consulting with the state government and assisting the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to rig elections.”
But in a swift reaction, the Nasarawa State REC Ahmed Makama dismissed the allegations of the CPC as misplaced, stressing that they only exist in the imagination of the petitioner.
In the petition, the CPC chairman said in the senatorial election, ballot papers were distributed without regard to serial numbers, leaving room for more speculations of underhand arrangements.
“We observed this to the REC, but he never responded. All polling units were provided with ballot papers short of their registered population; it was alleged that the balance was sold to PDP. This, too, was unattended to. Our call for an inventory of all sensitive materials distributed and their balance during the National Assembly election were rebuffed,” the petitioner said.
“The senatorial candidates of CPC, Alhaji Tanko Wambai and Gen. Ahmed Abdullahi, were arrested along with other innocent members of CPC, in Abuja, on the report of REC for no just cause,” the petition added, stressing that there was no crisis or untoward event in these districts after the exercise.
“Today, Nasarawa State voters are edgy because of the speculations that it will be under siege as recommended by the REC. Ballot boxes are to be snatched, voters dispersed and results pre-determined and written. All these would be done with the expected connivance of the REC and security agencies,” the petition said adding that the CPC no longer has confidence that the REC will superintend over the governorship election.
Haruna said their call for the removal of the REC is “necessary to forestall further damage to the credibility, fairness and transparency of the exercise you (Jega) have laboured to provide.”
But in his reaction, the REC, Ahmad Makama, told Daily Trust on phone that the fear of the petitioners over the uncertainty of ballot papers is misplaced because, according to him “the ballot papers for the next elections are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Lafia.
“They are not in anybody’s hands”, he said, adding, “I don’t produce ballot papers, they are given to me.” He said he lacked the competence to talk about the alleged absence of serial numbers on the ballot papers, explaining that “I have never seen or touched ballot papers. My operations man does that.”
He said he cannot confirm or deny that the ballot papers used in the two last elections were serialized, because he did not see them himself.
On the allegation of a cooked voters’ register being used in the state to the advantage of the PDP, Makama said, “it is there for anybody to come and see”, but added that it is not his responsibility to make copies available to parties as being sought by the petitioner, but that of the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
He also waved aside the allegation of some PDP agents roaming the streets as “supervisors”, explaining that it is the responsibility of the Police Commissioner to stop them, and not his personnel who are busy sorting out and conducting elections.