The chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, opened up on the ills of the electoral process in Nigeria and excessive use of money by politicians, declaring that he and the staff of the commission were offered bribes during elections, especially during the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship rerun.


However, Professor Iwu, who was speaking at a recent dialogue session in Enugu, Enugu State, where civil servants, under the auspices of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), fully engaged and questioned him on his handling of elections in the country, added that the bribes were rejected.


Describing such offers as foolish, the INEC chairman, said he opened up on the critical issues affecting the electoral process in the country, because he was in his constituency.


“I am talking to you this way, because this is my constituency,” Iwu told the large gathering of Nigerian workers, who were participating in their 9th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference at the Universal Hotel, Enugu.


He likened such offers to a military coup d’état, saying that, if a military man was consulted to participate in a coup and he refused, he would become a dead person and if he agreed, the end result could also be death.


As a primary solution to this problem, he said the massive and excessive use of money in the polity should be addressed with a view to curbing it, as the nation tried to reform its electoral laws. He warned it was very crucial that the commission must be fully involved in the reform process.


Professor Iwu, who also spoke on the Ekiti governorship rerun said: “We were being taunted by one foolish offer or the other. And, as they said, the biggest thing that happens in this country is that, if this kind of offer is made to you, it is like being part of a military coup. If you say no, you are dead; [If] you participate, you may die, but in this particular case, people will come to you and you tell them politely, no.


“I was not being arrogant. I have lived with smaller salary in my life. I lived when we were not paid and , at my level, when I have my grandchildren (they are still alive and I can see them), I don’t have reason to build any other house. I have three houses, which I can boldly say, because I earned the money.


“So, what do I need another house for? What do I need your money for that will make me not to be able to accept a very important duty that my country, out of 140 million people, had asked me to do? And if you explain this to the person quietly, his conclusion is that, since you don’t take money from him, you must have taken from his opponents. And from that moment, they will harass you and harass you.


“So, the issue of excessive use of money in Nigerian politics is very important. We should be able to address it. Massive and excessive use of money has to be stopped. We should be able to have a situation where you know that certain things are beyond their money, that there are certain things they cannot buy, that there are certain people they cannot buy.”


He stated that their only yardstick at INEC was that “if I am morally convinced that the consent of the people, the will of the Nigerian people, had been determined, whether the man who lost is happy or not is immaterial. The important thing is that we are able to determine the will of Nigerian people.”

WE KNOW ALL THAT, he does not need to tell us again,

benlay:



The chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, opened up on the ills of the electoral process in Nigeria and excessive use of money by politicians, declaring that he and the staff of the commission were offered bribes during elections, especially during the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship rerun.
However, Professor Iwu, who was speaking at a recent dialogue session in Enugu, Enugu State, where civil servants, under the auspices of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), fully engaged and questioned him on his handling of elections in the country, added that the bribes were rejected.


Describing such offers as foolish, the INEC chairman, said he opened up on the critical issues affecting the electoral process in the country, because he was in his constituency.


“I am talking to you this way, because this is my constituency,” Iwu told the large gathering of Nigerian workers, who were participating in their 9th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference at the Universal Hotel, Enugu.


He likened such offers to a military coup d’état, saying that, if a military man was consulted to participate in a coup and he refused, he would become a dead person and if he agreed, the end result could also be death.


As a primary solution to this problem, he said the massive and excessive use of money in the polity should be addressed with a view to curbing it, as the nation tried to reform its electoral laws. He warned it was very crucial that the commission must be fully involved in the reform process.


Professor Iwu, who also spoke on the Ekiti governorship rerun said: “We were being taunted by one foolish offer or the other. And, as they said, the biggest thing that happens in this country is that, if this kind of offer is made to you, it is like being part of a military coup. If you say no, you are dead; [If] you participate, you may die, but in this particular case, people will come to you and you tell them politely, no.


“I was not being arrogant. I have lived with smaller salary in my life. I lived when we were not paid and , at my level, when I have my grandchildren (they are still alive and I can see them), I don’t have reason to build any other house. I have three houses, which I can boldly say, because I earned the money.


“So, what do I need another house for? What do I need your money for that will make me not to be able to accept a very important duty that my country, out of 140 million people, had asked me to do? And if you explain this to the person quietly, his conclusion is that, since you don’t take money from him, you must have taken from his opponents. And from that moment, they will harass you and harass you.


“So, the issue of excessive use of money in Nigerian politics is very important. We should be able to address it. Massive and excessive use of money has to be stopped. We should be able to have a situation where you know that certain things are beyond their money, that there are certain things they cannot buy, that there are certain people they cannot buy.”


He stated that their only yardstick at INEC was that “if I am morally convinced that the consent of the people, the will of the Nigerian people, had been determined, whether the man who lost is happy or not is immaterial. The important thing is that we are able to determine the will of Nigerian people.”

Who 'are' the people who offer them monies? to do what? which party do they belong? or are they faceless individual that did not belong to any party. Did INEC report the matter to the police? what about the N250 million that said to have been offered, maybe received by your staff at the Ekiti re-run election?

Offering bribe is an offence and taking bribe is also an offence, how come he has not been reporting the bribe offers to the police.

We know he was offered bribes, I mean that is to be expected, but I think the main question ought to be, DID HE RIG ELECTIONS? I bet majority in that country will answer with a resounding YES here. So, what is the point of all this? Is he trying to prepare himself to run for office in the future or something?

We Were Offered Bribes To Rig Elections - Iwu

here comes another cousin of ribadu.
i think the big questions are, 1. who are these people that offered the bribes? and 2. did u collect the bribes?
because the result showed that a lot of bribes were accepted.

this is enough to remove this guy if he does not tell us those who offered the bribes

Please we should not just talk here and allow these guys ruin our future,can any lawyer in the house sue Iwu for this,he is taking us for a fool. Who and who bribed him that he cannot mentioned then,now he wanted to act like comrades to workers that have being impoverished by the system he aided fraudulently . Sick ! What is wrong with this Nation,believe he is part of the branding flu ! Since Gani is sick no more talk now,even Falana has joined AC

@Lanre

When will Nigerians stop looking up to the Ganis and Falanas to do the talking, as though it would make any difference?

All the talk talk wey dem do, wetin happen?

Nigerians should take their destiny in their hands and flush these agents of darkness out of the system!

Nigerians are too docile and about the easiest group of people to ''misgovern''.

hmnn,

We Were Offered Bribes to Rig Elections- Iwu

Yeah! We know!

why is this headline news like we dont know this already, and why isn't the police pursuing this allegations,

is it not possible for this idiot to just shut up that waste pipe he calls mouth?

did he report them to the efcc or is he just barking?

bawomolo:

did he report them to the efcc or is he just barking?

EFCC is not in-charge of election crime but the police.

Tell us something we don't know, Mofo!!!!

even if it's something we know they all do from time to time but when he came up to say it out then we all must take him up on that, i still don't think this has to go like business as usual.