Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu has insisted that the electoral body did its best in the conduct of elections under him given the circumstances.

More on: http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/apr/08/newsbreak-08-04-2010-001.htm

"Sounding undaunted the INEC chairman declared that he has done more than any chairman of the electoral body in Nigeria before him to instill sanity in the electoral process"
http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/apr/08/newsbreak-08-04-2010-001.htm

Imagine, what quality of election declared him best Electoral Chairman So far

Is it the?

Electoral officials that got to the pollen station late
Voting Materials that Got to the pollen station late
Voting that started late in many part of the country
Violent at the Pollen Station
Mass Rigging during election
False declaration of the winner
Re-run of the Election in EKiti State
Tribunal ordered the re-run of election in many state right from the local govt level to the senate.

I urge Iwu not to come back after the end of his tenure.

Because a sound, free and fair election should be conducted by a trust worthy fellow. We need to be progress in this country, Right person should be at the right post.

Iwu, you done your best for Nigeria
Thanks,
God shall reward you for what you've done for Nigeria.

Prof Iwu remains the best man for the 2011 elections.

@ Talkmarkay

You didnt add to your list the new rigging style adopted in the Anambra gubbernatorial elections of February where the voters register was manipulated to exclude majority of the voters who turned out to vote but became frustrated and returned to their various homes when their names could not be found in the register.

Iwu is not the problem, the system is the prolem. You and ME!!!!!

Iwu has a record - the first and only person to oversee the successful transfer of power from one government to another.

I prefer an Iwu that has stated that the results would be announced at the polling booths in the next elections (considering how that stopped rigging in Anambra state) to any new person that may begin a new experiment and claim that the time was short if he/she failed.

Otherwise let the law makers enshrine in the electoral act the announcement of results at the polling booths so that irrespective of the person in charge rigging would be dealt a severe blow in our politics.

A bad workman quarells with his tools!

Poor Iwu, he explodes?! He will soon implode.

The dude is yet to oversee a free and fair election since the history of Nigerian democracy, he instead enjoys his seemingly cordial relationship with ranking members of the PDP.

I really don't see any sense of reasoning in the statements credited to some posters before me who claimed he's best for the job, if someone kept failing to deliver the people's mandate, do we allow him to continue or head butt him at the slightest opportunity?

You guys shout for a change, and here is a man who we entrust with the confidence of our votes, and right under his very eyes, our votes were stolen, and incredibly enough, you come back here and say Iwu is the best person for the job, out of a hundred and fifty million people?


Typical of Nigerians, someone was even in a hurry to blame the system, my question is who is meant to put the Electoral system in order in the first place?

Iwu has a record - the first and only person to oversee the successful transfer of power from one government to another

Yes he did, but he also has a record as the Person whose under his watchful eyes, we had the dividends of democracy stolen from us. . . . paradoxically enough, since the "successful transfer of power" as you stated, we are yet to enjoy dividends of "Government by the People".


I honestly find it hard to believe that Nigerians clamoring for a change will still by any chance like to see Iwu as the head of the electoral system, where does the change come from then?

Are we so damn sure that if Nigeria is turned inside out and upside down, we will not find at least one man who can give us what we thirst for 10 times better than what Iwu presented us with?

chiozor:

Iwu is not the problem, the system is the prolem. You and ME!!!!!

The system does not include me (I don't know about you). The system consists of govt and those they patronise.
On the whole, your theory is wrong because, in 1993 Professor Humphrey Nwosu was able to hold the only free and fair elections the country ever witnessed.

He released the results under severe threats from IBB, because he valued his good name and integrity above all else. Iwu has no good name and no integrity, those who have paid him corrupt monies are the only ones clamouring for him to continue in office. His time is up.

Iwu truly has a point, he alone is not the problem with our elections, he can do us a favour by documenting his challenges and leave his recommendations for whoever is takin over from him

@beaf how free was the 1993 elections and if it was so free wat did we achieve with an election where there were no results?

The truth is dat the politicians messed us up, or wasnt it Arthur Nzeribe a politician who went to court and got a ruling that results should not be declared and Nwosu refused to obey.

Iwu tried his best Obj didnt allow Iweala return to finance ministry so that the treasury could be pludered to manipulate the elections same was the challenge Iwu had believe me Obj should be blamed squarely for the 2007 failures

violent:

The dude is yet to oversee a free and fair election since the history of Nigerian democracy, he instead enjoys his seemingly cordial relationship with ranking members of the PDP.

I really don't see any sense of reasoning in the statements credited to some posters before me who claimed he's best for the job, if someone kept failing to deliver the people's mandate, do we allow him to continue or head butt him at the slightest opportunity?

You guys shout for a change, and here is a man who we entrust with the confidence of our votes, and right under his very eyes, our votes were stolen, and incredibly enough, you come back here and say Iwu is the best person for the job, out of a hundred and fifty million people?


Typical of Nigerians, someone was even in a hurry to blame the system, my question is who is meant to put the Electoral system in order in the first place?

Yes he did, but he also has a record as the Person whose under his watchful eyes, we had the dividends of democracy stolen from us. . . . paradoxically enough, since the "successful transfer of power" as you stated, we are yet to enjoy dividends of "Government by the People".


I honestly find it hard to believe that Nigerians clamoring for a change will still by any chance like to see Iwu as the head of the electoral system, where does the change come from then?

Are we so damn sure that if Nigeria is turned inside out and upside down, we will not find at least one man who can give us what we thirst for 10 times better than what Iwu presented us with?

Nigerians living in Nigeria are in a better position to comment on issues concerning Nigeria and based on this alone your comments will be treated as the typical comments from some of you living outside who tolerate all manner of imperfections in your host country while screaming to high heavens whenever Nigeria is mentioned.

Trust me when it comes to solving the many problems of Nigeria your views don't matter, sorry.

For the records, no one has stated that he remains the best man for the job unless you are ok with misrepresenting or twisting comments by other people.

At least I did state that anyone can deliver if the issue of announcing the results at the pooling booths can be enshrined in the electoral act instead of the chair choosing to do this at will.

Leave your sentiments on the bed when you wake up and you will see how objectivity will help you.

marvix:

@beaf how free was the 1993 elections and if it was so free wat did we achieve with an election where there were no results?

The truth is dat the politicians messed us up, or wasnt it Arthur Nzeribe a politician who went to court and got a ruling that results should not be declared and Nwosu refused to obey.

Iwu tried his best Obj didnt allow Iweala return to finance ministry so that the treasury could be pludered to manipulate the elections same was the challenge Iwu had believe me Obj should be blamed squarely for the 2007 failures

Iwu would have resigned if he had some integrity.
You can compare Humphrey Nwosu; against all odds, he released results. Even after being directed not to do so because the election he conducted had been annulled without his say so. He made sure we knew his side of the story, even at great personal risk. Lets not forget that all this happened during a military regime when sudden dissapearance wasn't uncommon. Whatever Iwu faced from Obj is childs play compared to what obtained under a dictatorship.

Afam:

Nigerians living in Nigeria are in a better position to comment on issues concerning Nigeria and based on this alone your comments will be treated as the typical comments from some of you living outside who tolerate all manner of imperfections in your host country while screaming to high heavens whenever Nigeria is mentioned.

Trust me when it comes to solving the many problems of Nigeria your views don't matter, sorry.

For the records, no one has stated that he remains the best man for the job unless you are ok with misrepresenting or twisting comments by other people.

At least I did state that anyone can deliver if the issue of announcing the results at the pooling booths can be enshrined in the electoral act instead of the chair choosing to do this at will.

Leave your sentiments on the bed when you wake up and you will see how objectivity will help you.

The fact that i live outside the country does not make me any less a Nigerian than you are and neither does it mean you are currently updated on Nigerian politcs than i am.  Beyond the shores on Nigeria, there are still lots of us who monitor Nigerian politics even more than many guys at home.

And yes, when it comes to solving Nigerians problems, my views count a lot, as long as i remain a full blooded Nigerian and as long as i have stakes and families living in Nigeria.

What bothers me is the fact that you seem to believe that announcing results at polling booths takes away the headache, what about the many hundreds of Nigerians with the voting materials in their houses and ballot boxes that go missing?

What about names like "Micheal Jackson". "Bolton Wanderers" "Alex Ferguson" that we find filling our ballot boxes?

Even putting aside the many deficiencies of the Marice-Iwu led INEC, why do we really need him there after he has failed us severally in the past, so much so that many don't bother to go out and vote since it is a nation wide held belief that results are known before elections are conducted?

Why not head butt this failure of a man and appoint someone else capable of working without the fear of jeopardizing his relationship with godfathers in PDP?

This, my friend, has nothing to do with sentiments, its just pure reasoning as presented by objectivity and reality

violent:

. . .

What about names like "Micheal Jackson". "Bolton Wanderers" "Alex Ferguson" that we find filling our ballot boxes?

. . .

You forgot Mike Tyson. These people have all been declared honorary Nigerians by Iwu. He has a passport office in his backyard.

Beaf:

You forgot Mike Tyson. These people have all been declared honorary Nigerians by Iwu. He has a passport office in his backyard.

Apart from all these funny names,he had a lot of time to prepare for the Anamabra Polls.He had the opportunity to aggressively purusue voters registration and sensitisation.That would have erased the problems witnessed in the discredited polls.Iwu made a record of being the leader of the election umpire that oversee only 17% Of electorate voting while disenfrachising the remaining 83%.

violent:


The fact that i live outside the country does not make me any less a Nigerian than you are and neither does it mean you are currently updated on Nigerian politcs than i am.  Beyond the shores on Nigeria, there are still lots of us who monitor Nigerian politics even more than many guys at home.

And yes, when it comes to solving Nigerians problems, my views count a lot, as long as i remain a full blooded Nigerian and as long as i have stakes and families living in Nigeria.

What bothers me is the fact that you seem to believe that announcing results at polling booths takes away the headache, what about the many hundreds of Nigerians with the voting materials in their houses and ballot boxes that go missing?

What about names like "Micheal Jackson". "Bolton Wanderers" "Alex Ferguson" that we find filling our ballot boxes?

Even putting aside the many deficiencies of the Marice-Iwu led INEC, why do we really need him there after he has failed us severally in the past, so much so that many don't bother to go out and vote since it is a nation wide held belief that results are known before elections are conducted?

Why not head butt this failure of a man and appoint someone else capable of working without the fear of jeopardizing his relationship with godfathers in PDP?

This, my friend, has nothing to do with sentiments, its just pure reasoning as presented by objectivity and reality 

The problem on this forum is that once issues are raised and they are successfully tackled you begin to get new questions without even acknowledging the answers provided.

Rigging of the votes takes place between the time votes are made and final results announced. As long as the results are announced at the polling booths the issue of rigging the election as regards votes casted ends. Fact. This was what happened in Anambra state and that was why no single candidate complained about rigging but about voters registers with missing or fake names and the issue of 2/3.

With the announcement of results at the polling booths settling the issue of rigging the votes casted we then focus on making sure we have an updated voters register devoid of fake names.

I am not interested in the person there. In my opinion Iwu has not done very well but this is more than Iwu right now. If Anambra state election could be used as a reference and based on that Iwu has promised that the next elections would see the results announced at the polling booth. To me this is what is needed but promising that is not enough, it should be made law and not discretionary.

So we have 3 options

1. Allow Iwu to oversee the next elections based on his promise to announce results at the polling booths. Work on the voters register.

2. Replace him with a new person who may claim that he/she was not given enough time to plan as regards the next elections assuming we see massive rigging.

3. Enshrine the "announcement of results at the polling booth" in the electoral act so that whoever is in charge would not matter anymore and then kick out Iwu or appoint anyone.

IWU is not the man for the job, then again how am I sure my vote will count even if it is another person heading INEC,


At the end of the day the system has been damaged beyond repair, NIgeria is doom, We dont vote. All them Obasanjo and the Emirs and sultans already know our next president cos Votes dont count in this part of the world, presidents arent elected they are selected

Iwu is not the problem, all these people calling for his removal are the ones that are becoming uncomfortable with his reform. The best reform IWU has introduced is the anouncement of the result at the polling booth.

This has removed the issue of ballot stuffing and snatching which is making the riggers jitery.

Obeledu:

Iwu is not the problem, all these people calling for his removal are the ones that are becoming uncomfortable with his reform. The best reform IWU has introduced is the anouncement of the result at the polling booth.
This has removed the issue of ballot stuffing and snatching which is making the riggers jitery.

And how does that aid in combating rigging AT THE VERY SAME POLLS? How does announcing RIGGED results at the POLLS help?

I believe has had ample time to, not only restructure INEC on all levels but take advantage of innovations available to his advantage. But in a country where we have double standards that allow folks like Dora, and the other recycled ministers yet another go at the roles they have failed at, I would say the last Anambra election ought to be considered as REDEMPTION since we are so good at FORGIVING the transgressions of our leaders, rather than holding them accountable for their records in office.

hmmm proper voting station i seee, no one people snatch ballot boxes and stars fights outside, If it were held in better conditions it would discrouage thugs from acting crazy.

otukpo:

His best was definitely not good enough.
So, he supposed to step aside let another person come and try.

Are you cool with people trying for the sake of it even if any mistake could take 4 years to correct? I think having a system that works regardless of who is in charge is better than allowing people to try.

Ben-10:

[color=#006600]Iwu cannot be in all the pollen stations. . .The system is corrupt and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Are you in essence suggesting we would need to have an INEC chair at each polling station before we can get credible elections?
Was Iwu at the polls in Anambra? How come there was success recorded there?

Ben-10:

In fact, the people crying for "Change" are the most corrupt in our society.

Naija's case is beyond prayers and protests not to talk of an ordinary sack of an INEC president.

He has had well over 4 years to make significant progress in revamping that system and has had next to no successes until the recent, which we have no guaratees we will get a repeat of.

Nigeria has had all the prayer it needs, what it needs now is ACTION in the right direction. You don't expect to continue doing NOTHING to move things forward and still expect things to.

Wetin Iwu still dey do for there sef?! pschew!

el-effizi:

Wetin Iwu still dey do for there sef?! pschew!

The same thing Dora and all the other recycled mediocres are

Iwu is not to blame.  The problem is that the system is messed up and No matter who you put there you still going to get the same result. I can tell you now if Babangida should run for president next year he is going to win confirm with or without Iwu.

to me, iwu is only a tool but the bad names he has gotten himself is as result of a man of his quality allowing himself to be used by a barrack ridden soldier.
sack iwu and bring soyinka, as long as there is a pdp too too and too desperate to remain in power by all means, the results prepared before the elections will still be announced after the elections.
why is pdp not ready to listen to the masses on the issues of electorial reforms? why is pdp hell bent on the presidency selecting or appointing the inec chairman? the hidden and open agenda here is clear as long as nigeria is concerned.
the rigging and manupulations start from the parties where individuals select the flag bearers at the deteriment of what the majority think.
the idea of democracy is defeated in our situations where annointed candidacy is the order of the day. we can't progress when the president has power to choose who the referee will be in a game he will be a part of.
i think what iwu is doing here is what each and everyone of us will do in his situation that is blowing his own trumpet otherwise, how can a man who elects 36 govs and loose 35 to the court be happy to praise himself?
in a civilised country, iwu will resign without nigerians telling him to do so.
i was never expecting anything different from a situation where obasanjo apointed iwu with ribadu as the man to screen politicians especially those up against his annointed candidates.
if i have my way, i will ask prof iwu to kindly step aside to save himself future embarrasments because his position in life is supposed to be greater than the foolish things he has been involved in.

f