The urgent call that must be made now by opposition political parties who are willing to participate in the Local Government Election is to impress it upon the OYSIEC chairman to come out clean on the provisions of schedule 2 of the OYSIEC Law.
For every election, the most important process is the announcement of the winners and losers.
It is the concluding process of the election from the side of the electoral umpire and whatever call made by the Electoral body could only be tampered with by the Tribunals as provided for in section 33-42 of the OYSIEC Law.
The sting is in the tail.
No election could be free, fair and transparent if the most important process, the announcement of the results of the election is shrouded in mysteries.
OYSIEC have over the years relied on the lacuna created in schedule 2 of Its Law and I think deliberately so, to sabotage election results.
In 2003, the Alliance for Democracy, AD, defeated the PDP in Ibarapa East by 803 votes in the chairmanship election.
OYSIEC, at Its Agodi, Ibadan headquarters sabotaged the original results and announced the PDP that lost the election, according to Its own results as the winner of the election.
The Alliance for Democracy had to labor hard to recover the seat at the Tribunal.
In May, 2021, the OYSIEC, without conducting any valid election in Ibarapa East due to widespread violence that resulted in the killings of four individuals went ahead to announce the PDP candidates as winners of an election that never held.
It is interesting to note that the said election was supervised by the current OYSIEC chairman and the said results was announced at the headquarters of the Commission in Ibadan.
I have carefully perused the provisions of schedule 2 of the OYSIEC Law.
Though, nebulous and cleverly crafted, most especially, section 39 thereof, I do not see how the provisions empowers OYSIEC to announce results of election at Its headquarters in Ibadan.
Section 39 talks about posting of results. It never mentioned “announcement”.
I do not see how that section could confer authority to announce election results in Ibadan.
In fact, legally, there is and should be no basis for the announcement of results beyond the respective collation centres in the wards and the Local Governments as the case may be.
The OYSIEC Law can not be inconsistent with both the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Both of this superior Laws recognized collation centres from the wards to the Federal levels for the purposes of collating and announcement of results.
This should be the case for the Local Government Election.
It is the only acceptable standard which OYSIEC must embrace if indeed It is neutral and committed to a free, fair and transparent election.
Transparent election is not given by words of mouth. It is demonstrated both in action and in words.
I see no special reason why the OYSIEC chairman, himself a Senior Advocate of Nigeria will find it difficult to make a definite clarification on this very important matter.
Announcement of election results must take place at the respective collation centres.
That is the Law. That is the proper thing to do and opposition political parties must call out the OYSIEC chairman on this very important matter.
Unless the OYSIEC does the right thing, the acclaimed integrity of Its chairman will remain a fallacy.
This matter must be resolved quickly, even if it requires a judicial intervention.
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
