INEC/IPAC Impasse: Unbundle INEC Now- IPAC tell Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms: Propose 3 Commissions: a] Federal Electoral Commission [FEC],b]Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission,[PPRRC], c]National Electoral Offences Commission[NEOC].

Nigeria Electoral Reforms: IPAC  Propose to Unbundle INEC

INEC/IPAC Impasse: Unbundle INEC Now- IPAC tell Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms: Propose 3 Commissions: a] Federal Electoral Commission [FEC],b]Political Parties Registration and  Regulatory Commission,[PPRRC], c]National Electoral Offences Commission[NEOC].

By Professor Uche Okorie: Senior Political Analyst: National Peoples News: ISSN: 1595-0549

The abysmal performance of INEC and Professor Mahmood Yakubu that has failed the Nation in the task of conducting free, fair and credible election is no news. 

Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s INEC is a failure as they conducted the worst elections in Nigeria’s history. All the elections conducted by Professor Mahmood Yakubu since 2016 when he took over the affairs of INEC are characterized by widespread rigging, violence, snatching, and stuffing of ballot boxes, inconclusive elections, election postponement, underage voting, vote-buying and selling, falsifications of results, deaths, shame, and grieves and cannot be said to be free, fair nor credible. This has created voter’s apathy and Nigerians are no longer coming out to vote during elections because they believe their vote does not count anymore. 

The need to address this tragedy demands a total rebranding and repackaging of INEC, the electoral institute, and the Commission.

This has made IPAC- [ Inter-Party Advisory Council ]–the highly respected association of the  Chairmen  of 91 registered political parties of the Nigerian Federation made up of highly respected Professors, Doctorate and Master degree holders, Lawyers and exclusive intelligentsias of the Nigerian Federation put heads together and proffer solutions to the Nigerian electoral impasse so that they can work with the Senate and the House of Representatives to re-navigate Nigeria’s Democratic dispensation to glorious dawn, that Professor Mahmood Yakubu has crashed with his shenanigans.

In the white paper and Communiqué released recently by IPAC after a two days summit on how to move Nigeria out of the Woods tagged “Solutions to Electoral Problems of Nigeria” made available to the Media by the National Director of Planning and Policy HE Prince Frank Ukonga, the IPAC document offered the following panacea:

1] The imperatives of Unbundling INEC into three Commissions:

 IPAC observed that that the workload on INEC was too heavy and too much as INEC is saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections, Registration and monitoring of political parties and their activities as well as the responsibility of Electoral Offences. In every election circle, INEC has nothing less than 8000 court cases and more than 4000 electoral offenses court cases. These herculean tasks IPAC Observed is responsible for the abysmal failure of INEC under Professor Mahmood Yakubu. Whence IPAC offer that INEC be unbundled into three:

 a] Federal Electoral Commission [FEC],

IPAC offers the creation of a new Federal Electoral Commission that would be charged with the responsibility of conducting elections in Nigeria. The duty of the proposed FEC is only to conduct free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.

b] Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission,[PPRRC],

IPAC offers the formation of the Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission [PPRRC] to be charged with the duties of Registering Political Parties, Monitoring Political Parties and keeping political parties on their toes to live up to the expectations of their constitutions and manifesto. This would upscale the quality of service delivery of political parties and the ruling government to the electorate.

 c]National Electoral Offenses Commission[NEOC].

The formation of the National Electoral Offenses Commission is highly supported by IPAC and though the bill on the formation of the Commission has passed public Readings and it is hopeful that the bill will soon come into effect as a law

There are other several proposals for the Electoral Reforms Committee in the IPAC White paper and to facilitate these great initiatives of IPAC the President In Council of IPAC in the IPAC Executive meeting has appointed a 5 member IPAC/ National Assembly Liaison Personnel of erudite IPAC intelligentsias to liaise with the Senate and the House of Representatives to facilitate these great ideals and transform the Nigerian electoral system to conform with international best practices.