It has turned out to be clear to every Tom, Dick and Harry that Your Commission’s current voters’ register of 1.84million “registered voters”, is very unrealistic, fallacious, roguish, bogus, unauthentic and scientifically unverifiable. It is rather inexplicable to observe how a voter register of 1.84million produced less than 300,000 voters in Anambra State on Election Day.
Our Ref:Inter-society/ Nig/Vol.02/ 02/2010/INEC/ ABJ/FRN
The Chairman 41, Miss Elems Street
Independent National Electoral Commission Fegge, Onitsha
Plot 436, Zambezi Crescent Anambra State
Maitama District Nigeria
FCT, Abuja 06/2010
Dear Sir,
The Discredited Voters’ Register For Anambra Electorates Must Be Properly Cleaned Up And Meaningful Continuous Voters’ Registration Exercise Commenced
First, permit us to register our deep displeasure over the hard stance and uncompromising attitudes of Your Commission over issues of high public importance. One of the reasons why Your Commission has failed in the discharge of its constitutionally tasked duties is its inability to heed to pieces of relevant advice. Your Commission also prefers sycophancy and falsehood to truth and wise counseling. These have seemingly ferried Your Commission from the Hall of Fame to the Hall of Infamy.
If Your Commission had heeded to our pieces of advice, which we offered to same as far back as January 2009, and even before then, Your Commission would have stood the chance of conducting the best election in Nigeria, care of Anambra State. But high level of insincerity and gross intent for corporate criminality appeared to have beclouded its intents and purposes.
It has turned out to be clear to every Tom, Dick and Harry that Your Commission’s current voters’ register of 1.84million “registered voters”, is very unrealistic, fallacious, roguish, bogus, unauthentic and scientifically unverifiable. It is rather inexplicable to observe how a voter register of 1.84million produced less than 300,000 voters in Anambra State on Election Day.
In actuality, People of Anambra State, especially those in the voting age, stayed in their homes frustrated and grumbling because they were massively disenfranchised by Your Commission by not registering them during the registration of voters’ exercise.
True to our earlier prediction, over 100,000 bearers of genuine voters’ cards who went to cast their vote were turned back and instantly disenfranchised at the polling centers, on the grounds that their names were not found in the so-called voters’ register. This was contrary to our earlier sincere advice that Your Commission should allow any bearer of an authenticated voters’ card to cast his or her vote, because the administrative lapses originated therein should not be heaped on the innocent voters.
In parenthesis, Your Commission’s current voters’ register of 1.84million is bogus and seventy percent (70%) of its contents are “foreign” names. It is now correct to assert that only 500,000 to 600,000 names so contained are genuine. This gross disparity would not have been noticed if hundreds of thousands of “foreign votes” were successfully imported and merged with the 300,000 live votes obtained from polling fields, as was the case in the past.
Therefore, the good thing about the election is that the 300,000 voters, which translated into the results so announced, emanated from the People of Anambra State, call it “modified electoral college election”, the fact firmly remains that the people have spoken and their speech or voice
allowed. Though, to disenfranchise a people especially those in the voting age, in an election, is a serious moral undoing, but it is better to have one-live-vote intact, than to have 1 million deadvotes as people’s spoken voice. One-live-vote is tantamount to sacred ballot, which is stronger than the bullet and 1 million dead-votes, which are tantamount to bullets, are inferior to sacred ballot.
We call on Your Commission to, as a matter of uttermost immediacy, clean up that rubbish called “Anambra voters’ register” and commence a proper registration of voters, under the “Continuous Voters’ Registration Exercise” so as to register those who were disenfranchised.
This exercise must be carried out together with proper voter/civic education campaigns, with a view to ensuring that eligible voters are kept ready for the all-important 2011 general elections.
We also wish to use this medium to congratulate Your Commission for responding to positive pressures from within and outside to allow People’s votes to count in Anambra State.
We pray that Your Commission will respond to such pressures in subsequent elections especially during the all-important 2011 general elections in Nigeria. Going by the outcome of the said election, it appears that Your Commission has been ferried out of the Hall of Infamy.
Our sincere commendations also go to Dr. Josephine Okei-Odumakin, the president of the Nigeria’s Campaign for Democracy, for her outstanding contributions especially in the buildup to the important poll. Barrister Benedict Ezeagu of the 100 Young Lawyers of Conscience Forum, Abuja is also commended. We also thank Barristers Uche Wisdom Durueke and Chugbo Enwezor for their probono services so rendered in the Matter of Inter-society versus INEC.
Though, our commendations are inexhaustible, but it is also very important to thank the Nigeria Police Force, especially IGP, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo, the Anambra CP, Mr. Philomeon Leya, DPO, Aguata Division, Mr. Samuel D., the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Army, the SSS, the Civil Defence Corps, etc for their mature conducts, not minding some isolated cases of extortion and brutality.
The journalists of conscience including the staff and management of the Source Magazine, Punch, Nation, Daily Independent, Champion, Sun and Compass Newspapers, etc and the NTA, ABS, AIT, MBI, Delta Televisions, etc, are also commended.
The violence-free pre-election, election and post-election is observed and commended. As a result, the 25 candidates, especially Governor Peter Obi and his wife Margaret, are commended. It must be observed that the conduct of Mr. Nick Ukachukwu of HDP before and during the election was not entirely impressive.
Lastly, we commend Dr. Chris Ngige of the Action Congress for opting for a legal redress at the electoral tribunal so as to test and consolidate the input legitimacy conferred on Mr. Peter Obi by the Anambra voters. We also congratulate him for emerging second with 60,000 votes.
His decision this time around to shun godfatherism and Satanism and embrace one-man-one- vote culture is also commendable. The decision of Professor Charles Soludo not to contest the results so declared in electoral tribunal is also commendable.
We call for a consolidated development of Anambra State and an end to the politicians- oiled bank/bullion van robberies and abductions in the State.
We trust in Your Commission’s expeditious handling of this all-important letter.
Yours Faithfully,
For: Inter-society, Nigeria
Emeka Umeagbalasi
Chairman
Board of Trustees
Phone: +234(0)8033601078
Email: botchairman@ intersociety- ng.org
Website: www.intersociety- ng.org
Comrade Justus Ijeoma
Head
Publicity Desk
Phone: +234(0)8037114869
CC:
1. The President and Commander-in- Chief, Federal Republic of Nigeria
2. The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
3. The Governor of Anambra State
4. Chief Justice of Nigeria
5. President of the Court of Appeal
6. Senate President, Nigerian Senate
7. Speaker, House of Representatives
8. Inspector General of Police
9. Director General of SSS
10. Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army
11. The General Officer Commanding, 82nd Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu
12. Commander, Nigerian Army Artillery Regiment, Onitsha
13. Chairman, National Human Rights Commission
14. Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 9, Command, Umuahia, Abia State
15. The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra State
16. Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command
17. Director of SSS Anambra State Directorate
18. The President, West African Bar Association
19. The President of Nigeria Bar Association
20. United Nations Secretary-General, New York, USA
21. The President of the United Nations Human Rights Council
22. President of the United States
23. President of the European Union Federation
24. The Prime Minister of Canada
25. The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
26. The Prime Minister of Finland
27. The Prime Minister of the Great Britain
28. The Prime Minister of the Confederation of Switzerland
29. The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
30. Amnesty International, London, UK
31. Human Rights Watch, New York, USA
32. Article 19, London, UK
33. International Alert, London, UK
34. International Service for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland
35. United Action for Democracy, Nigeria
36. Campaign for Democracy, Nigeria
37. Civil Liberties Organization, Nigeria
38. Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, Nigeria