Dr. Jay Osi-Samuels, founding National Chairman of Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) granted an interview in December 2018 where he predicted that the 2019 general elections will be postponed. In this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he speaks on the postponement of the exercise and its implications for the polity. Excerpts:

You granted an interview last December where you categorically stated that the 2019 general elections will be postponed even though a lot of people didn’t agree with you. Now that it has been postponed, what is your take?

When I made my pronouncement, it was based on careful analysis of the state of play, disposition of some players in this government, actions they have taken as well the mood of the nation concerning the performance or otherwise of this government. All that made me to come to the conclusion that if there was a free, fair, credible and transparent election, this APC-led government would lose handily. And of course, they are not ready to lose power so, they will start doing things to subvert the will of the people.

What are the implications of this postponement?

This is enormous. Are we going to talk about the economic, political, physical or that of perception internationally? A great deal of damage has been done to our country just because of the actions and inactions of a few. According to economists, businesses suffered N2.737tr loses because of this postponement. This is an economy that is just barely surviving. We cannot even quantify the value of the shame and ridicule this has incurred internationally. My only hope is that at the end of the day, INEC will conduct an election that will reflect the will of the Nigerian people and adjudged to be free, fair, transparent and credible.

Elections were postponed in 2011, 2015 and now. Do you think this is becoming a pattern every Election cycle?

Unfortunately so! though the situation surrounding each of these postponements are different. That is why some of us have been advocating for a total overhaul of our electoral process. Just like our constitution, the Electoral Act as amended needs to be rejigged to meet the realities of our time in terms of innovation and technology. INEC needs to be unbundled. We spend way too much on what is not necessary. Even before election, millions of voters are disenfranchised. I have been calling for what I call Universal Voting which will ensure that you can register with ease and vote with ease irrespective of where you were registered.

Who do you think should be blamed for this, INEC, FG or National Assembly?

The blame should go around. INEC had ample time to have prepared for these elections, but it seems some things were left till the last minute as we are used to do in Nigeria. As a founding National Chairman of a political party, I am privileged to have participated in some INEC-anchored stakeholders meeting but I have not always been impressed with the way things are presented. To me, INEC seems to be more concerned in checking the box: we have done this, we have done that. No thought is given to how well it was done, quality checks or quality improvement. For example, they gave a timeline for people to collect their PVCs and once that timeline expires, it’s over. No time is given to look at the numbers that has been collected, where and why. I can give several examples like that. And of course, we all witnessed the power play between the FG and the National Assembly concerning the INEC budget. We cannot deny the fact that the delay caused by that contributed to some of the logistical challenges that INEC is facing currently.

Do you suspect the hands of the ruling party in this postponement?

What is clear is that there have been deliberate attempts to sabotage INEC. We have heard stories and we saw how mysterious fires have been springing up in INEC offices. What we don’t know for sure now is who is behind it. We have heard calls for staggered elections which some people in this government seem to favour. We heard from the INEC Chairman at the stakeholders meeting that they are committed to have elections in one day, a reason for the postponement when they realised materials have not been uniformly distributed. From all the posturing, scheming and maneuverings both covertly and overtly, I will leave you to make your deductions as to what is going on.

Will this postponement affect the outcome of the election at the end of the day?

We will have to wait to find out. But if we are to go by history, postponing the D-Day has never favoured the incumbent.

Various pictures have surfaced of the inhuman conditions NYSC members who are being used as ad-hoc staff of INEC are subjected to. What is your take on that?

My heart goes to the thousands of Nigerian youth that have been exposed to these horrible and dehumanising conditions just because they are serving their fatherland. This takes me back to my earlier point on the need to overhaul INEC. We don’t have to continue to do things the way we are doing it. If we implement Universal Voting, we don’t need hundreds of thousands of corpers or security personnel that would create additional logistical nightmare, to conduct elections.
https://www.independent.ng/there-are-deliberate-attempts-to-sabotage-inec-osi-samuels/

It would be insane for APC to sack Mahmoud or instigate another postponement.


Enough is enough for APC, o to gee

Who is this mumu?

Yeye

ATIKULATED Nigerians will vote in a president FULL OF LIFE.

True, patriotic, and concerned Nigerians will VOTE FOR ATIKU.

Even the gods, jinns, angels and God have rejected the lifeless creature. Why would anyone endorse/elect FAILURE?

ATIKU ALL THE WAY!!
NIGERIA..... SAI ATIKU!!!