ENUGU GUBER DILEMMA: HOW ENUGU REC TRAPPED HIMSELF BY TURNING THE COLLATION CENTER INTO ELECTION PETITIONS TRIBUNAL.

By Ugwuagbo Emmanuel Chizoba

In most elections in Nigeria, there has always been complaints, mostly from the losing sides. The losing usually resort to boycott or trying to disrupt the process or demanding cancellations, suspensions or reruns.

It's because of this that elections petitions tribunal was established to hear the complaints as maybe raised by individuals or parties who are not satisfied with the results or the processes that led to the results. Hence it's stated in the law that boycotts do not stop elections, for if it does, any party that sees it's not winning will boycott the process.

It's on this premise that Prof. Attahiru Jega ignored Elder Godsday Orubebe in 2015 Presidential Election Collation Center when he made some valid points and attempted to stop the election. The position of the law was simply that if he had any issues against the processes or the results, he must approach the elections petitions tribunal.

Three weeks ago, similar scenario played out and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu reminded Dino Melaye that such matters are not within the powers of the Collation Officer but the Elections petitions Tribunal.

However, in Enugu, the Enugu Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe allowed his emotions to get the better part of him and that led him into taking taking a step that trapped him and put him in a dilemma that he is finding it difficult to come out from.

The first mistake he made was to allow the Returning Officers for both Nsukka and Nkanu East LGAs to announce the results of the LGAs. That singular act meant that nothing could be done about those LGAs by INEC, whether at the state or federal level. From that moment, it became an issue for elections petitions Tribunal as he didn't have the Rights do anything from that moment onwards.

After the complaints of various parties about the two LGAs, he decided to willingly trap himself by stepping down the results of the two LGAs. An action he didn't have the right to take.

He didn't have the right to take the action because stepping down meant that he could decide to accept or reject or cancel those results. When in actual sense he had already accepted them the moment he allowed the Returning Officers to announce them, thereby making it impossible to cancel an already announced result.

He realized the fatal mistake he had made and then decided to consult INEC Lawyers on the way out, which I am sure that they would have told him that there was no way out except for him to admit that he made a mistake by stepping them down.

This must have been what made him to want to seek the advice of the National Body of INEC, which further complicated his situation as the INEC laws didn't provide for such directives. The Collation Officer has the right to collate and declare winner. If he defaults in the process, he will be the one to face jail term. So he can't say he was acting on a directive.

At this point, the National Body and the REC are in a complicated position because admitting that the REC made a mistake is going to be difficult. So they have continued to thinker a way of coming out of their own trap without admission of guilt. A mission impossible.

The only way out remains to declare a winner according to the results announced or trigger the June 12, 1993 Scenario by annulling an already announced election.

Which way will it go? We keep our fingers crossed.

Lawyers in the house.
How accurate is this analysis?

Nothing to be done, the announced results stands.
Abia State Coalition Madam, refused to accept or announce the result of Obingwa LG, based on alledged manipulation..
The National INEC has now taken over the issue in Abuja, wether to accept the result or not.
So, the election is yet to be concluded.
That's the mistake the Enugu Prof made

yinkus6750:
Nothing to be done, the announced results stands.
Abia State Coalition Madam, refused to accept or announce the result of Obingwa LG, based on alledged manipulation..
The National INEC has now taken over the issue in Abuja, wether to accept the result or not.
So, the election is yet to be concluded.
That's the mistake the Enugu Prof made

The new laws allow electoral officer to cancel results already accepted...yes the new law gives that space

PDP rigged out LP in Nkanu East for sure. Check the result from this local government in presidential election where people trooped out to vote. Compare with what we have now.

I don't care whoever they announce but truth stands tall.

Oga Op, no matter how far you have gone on a wrong road, once you discover it is a wrong route, you must turn back that's the case here.

Those results cannot stand