Jide Ajani
11 October 2008
As Lagosians go to the polls today to elect councillors and chairmen, as well as local council development authority chairmen, the show is no more than a coronation ceremony for the anointed candidates of the Action Congress, AC, inspired and controlled by the indomitable Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the immediate past governor of the state.
But today's election suffers a massive deficit on account of the processes leading to the emergence of the candidates (particularly in the AC), the botched litigation by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the alleged bribery of supposed leaders of Democratic Peoples Alliance, DPA, and the opposition within the AC itself. All these have conspired to make today's election very contentious. At the end of the day however, it is easy to predict that candidates of AC in all the 20 LGAs and the 37 LCDAs would emerge victorious. For AC not to win all the seats would be a miracle of gargantuan proportions.
That is what nobody is expecting today - a miracle of gargantuan proportions. This is because the mis-match in today's election is very visible.
Reminiscent of the transition programme of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, when the Alliance for Democracy, AD, cleared all but one senatorial seat in the South West geo-political zone of the country, the AC is set to clear all the 20 LGA and the 37 LCDA seats in today's elections.
Whereas it has taken long in coming, the mere fact of the processes leading to today's local government elections is indicative of how important it is to both the ruling AC and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. There is also the Democratic Peoples Alliance, DPA, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Accord Party, AP, and the many mushrooming political parties in the land.
The PDP and the ANPP have already withdrawn from the race - although some political urchins in the PDP have vowed to contest today's election. This, at a time when the national headquarters of the party has issued a political fatwa that members who go against party position would be disciplined.
Even at this eleventh hour, controversy which has been the lot of local government councils in the state is not about to abate.
Because the possession of an AC candidature is a sure guarantee of victory at the polls, members of the party have been at each other's throat, just as its leader, Tinubu, have been made to engage in a series of negotiations and compromise moves, all with a view to placating members of the party who consider themselves done-in by the process of selecting candidates for election.
On Tuesday, specifically in EPE, members of AC went on rampage.
Venue was Recreation Centre, in the sleepy ancient town of Epe, a division in Lagos State.
Action Congress, AC, the all powerful political party in full and firm control of politics in the state is already mid-way into its rally, as part of campaigns for its candidates in today's local council elections.
The highest political office holder addressing the crowd is Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, an indigene of Epe. No doubt, it was a kind of home coming for him. Addressing the mammoth crowd, he extolled the virtues of his party, AC, and the many projects of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola which have transformed Lagos State. As the campaign activities progressed on the grounds of the Recreation Centre, Ikuforiji admonished party faithful on their bounden duty to ensure that AC wins today.
However, still seething from the outcome of the primaries which produced the candidates for today's local council elections, .
But as if evoking the spirit of political re-awakening, the otherwise calm crowd burst into an uncontrollable milieu of confusion. What they were trying to accomplish remains a puzzle.
However, what followed was a streak of sporadic gunshots. That was a rally organised by AC.
Following on the heels of that, Felix Oboagwina, Director of Publicity, Lagos DPA, disclosed that the AC has been engaging tactics that are very foul. In a statement he issued 72 hours to today' election, Oboagwina alleged that a member of LASIEC, on a radio programme practically campaigned for AC.
His words: Barrister Tokun Pedro, a state LASIEC Commissioner, who yesterday featured in an interview programme on the state-owned EkoFM 89.7 openly praised the AC government for the work it was doing in the state, and urged Lagosians to go out and vote in the local government polls so that the wonderful work could continue. he man was practically campaigning for AC, the DPA statement said.
This does not befit a so-called unbiased umpire. And it confirms our fear that we will not have a free and fair election. We urge the LASIEC Chairman to seriously warn his personnel against making such unguarded statements." He also declared that contrary to the impression being created by the AC that DPA leaders have defected to AC, Oboagwina maintained that there is no truth to the story.
In fact, Supo Sonibare, the Lagos DPA Chairman, lamented that "These are impostors if they say they are leaders of DPA. In any event, has anyone ever heard their names in the Press or elsewhere as our leaders? So if they say they are leaving us now, they are being fraudulent, shameless and economical with the truth. It means they lack integrity and they should hide their heads in shame for turning themselves into mere pawns in AC's political game. These politicians needed a financial lifeline and got it for a price from the ruling AC government. Public funds should have been utilised for the entire citizenry and not selected hangers-on."
This story of inducement was actually hung around the neck of DPA leaders.
Weekend Vanguard gathered that stories flying about town was that the AC had paid the leadership of DPA to participate in today's election, even when there had been grumbling by the same DPA that there was no level playing field.
Some leaders of PDP insinuated that it remains very curious and strange that the DPA would go ahead and participate in today's election, in the face of the bias already shown, thereby giving it legitimacy.
But Sonibare was quick to respond declaring that "some politicians needed a financial lifeline and got it for a price from the ruling AC government" - a reference to some former DPA members who have been spotted at AC rallies in the state.
In an interview with Vanguard, Sonibare said:
"We were leaders both in NADECO and AD in 1998. It is preposterous to suggest that we would somewhat shun the spoils and trapping of office as we did when we challenged the undemocratic dictatorial tendency that was apparent in AD. If we could not be tempted by financial inducements then to do what we must have been expected to do as Afenifere leaders. I can't speak for other political parties, but our stance is consistent with the position of Action Group, UPN and AD at its inception.
We have no apologies to say to our predecessors. If pretenders adopt ideological positions, we will support them for doing so. We urge the good people of Lagos State who are eager to make a difference in local government administration in Lagos to combat corruption, ineptitude and planlessness of the past 9years and install a transparent local government system to vote for a change and support DPA candidates.
"How can someone who has been selecting nominees for the position of council chairman for the past seven years offer us the opportunity for a contest even if you see that the dice is loaded and you don't take the opportunity to participate and endeavour to show that the dice is loaded in the process, how can one be offered autonomy even if its attached with preconditions and then one opts for continued "direct rule"? Our actions have been guided by the best interests of the people of Lagos state.
Some political parties who have not been criticising the ruling AC leaders and who have not even attempted to campaign locally or statewide may indeed have other motives for participating. You will need to ask them.
"We were one of the only political parties (the other being AC) who advertised our primaries in the newspapers and are campaigning for a change. That cannot be the stance of collusion. We bear that one political party which has claimed to be boycotting will suddenly have factions of its local wing who we hear has come to some electoral consensus with the AC leadership for some councils to be allocated to them, although, they would not have campaigned to give the semblance of a democratic process. Those are the ones colluding to truncate the democratic process. We will resist imposition of un-elected people and electoral malpractices."
But the elections are coming at a very momentous moment in the political history of Nigeria. The Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria has just 774 LGAs. The Lagos State Government, in 2005, and following procedures spelt out by the same Constitution, created additional 37 LGAs in addition to the 20 recognised by the Constitution, making 57.
Olusegun Obasanjio, as President at that time simply withheld monies meant for Lagos State LGAs.
The matter went as high up as the Supreme Court where it was determined that the state had powers to create LGAs but that the conclusion of the process rests with the National Assembly, listing it. The National Assembly is yet to list those newly created LGAs but the state government is giving them a nomenclature - Local Council Development Authorities, LCDAs.
From the blues, last Monday, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, headquarters in Abuja instructed members not to participate. Some protested.
But it is increasingly becoming obvious that the AC would sweep the polls.
First, there was the riot act read by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to party members, that primaries or not, his will would be done. His will appears to have prevailed.
The institution at the centre of the whole saga, Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, whose chairman, Justice Abdul-Fatai Adeyinka, (Rtd), has been shouting himself hoarse of the commission's impartiality remains resolute in carrying out the commission's duties.
In an interview with Weekend Vanguard, Justice Adeyinka said:
"We are fully prepared for the election. We were inaugurated last year May and since then, we have been working very hard. We have amended our law and updated it, so the current law now is the Lagos Independent Electoral Commission Law 2008.
We have also gone on familiarization tour and we hold stakeholders meeting. As at now, we collected the voter's registers from INEC and we have duplicated them. Very soon they will be pasted at the wards for 14 days. Our ballot boxes are ready for the elections. Our nominations are in the print.
We have also held meeting with the security agencies headed by the Commissioner of Police. We have over 8,000 polling unites and we require one policeman at the polling unit i.e. over 8,000 policemen and the Commissioner of Police assured us that their strength in Lagos is 30,000, so we are covered. The SSS too is working underground for security reasons. We had four meetings with the political parties- the last one was on the preparation of our guidelines. We have published the meeting for the elections; we have published the guidelines."
On what he would advise Lagosians to do today, Justice Adeyinka said:"If the doubts are as to whether or not the election will be held on the 11th October 2008, that is misplaced. The election will go on, on that day by the Grace of God unless the commission is restrained by the court. I am appealing to the electorate to come out enmasse and cast their votes.
From the political parties - they must ensure from their primaries that credible and qualified people are brought out as candidates for the Chairmanship and Counselorship election. For instance, a chairmanship candidate, must be sponsored by 20 registered voters in his constituency, while the counselor must be sponsored by 10 registered voters in his ward. That is an opportunity for the people now to say 'No, we don't want this candidate, we are not going to sponsor him'. But when you sponsor a candidate, how can you now come out to complain again?
But on our own part, we discovered that influence of party leaders is very bad, not only in Lagos, but throughout the federation, but what can we do? Then we decided that for the purpose of this election, LASIEC will not charge any political party or candidate a kobo for anything. All these forms were given to them and unlike before, not just the nomination forms, but all the forms for the candidates - 92 of them were piled and given to the political parties, so they don't have to be going up and down.
What we do is to observe when they invite us. We have the form to be filled by observers and maybe in the future, if they call us to give evidence, then we will say this is what we saw when they were conducting the primaries".
The AC in Lagos described the withdrawal of PDP today's elections as "a face saving tactic" saying PDP is not popular in Lagos. Speaking with Weekend Vanguard on the development, Publicity Secretary of AC in Lagos , Mr. Joe Igbokwe, stated that the withdrawal was long expected because they know that they would fail woefully.
His words: "We in AC are not surprised at the development because it is long expected. PDP has never been on ground in Lagos after many years of political irresponsibility.
"Their house is divided, no thanks to bickering among them. They are a confused set of people, they will need to put their house in order to defeat a focussed party like AC .
"The PDP withdrawal is a way of saving their face from imminent disgrace and disaster. Anyway they are only being smart by half."
Igbokwe continued: "They have seen that AC government is performing well in Lagos and there is no way to defeat such party other than to save their skin."
On whether the development will in any way affect the process, Igbokwe maintained: " PDP can not thrive in a free and fair election, they only believe in rigging elections. The only option left to them in this case, is to chicken out.
"With the development they can not attract any sympathy from the people. PDP is not the only opposition party in Lagos, there are 50 registered political parties. Therefore, only one party, pulling out can not stop the conduct of the election".
Whatever is said of today's election, at least, as Sonibare put it: "How can someone who has been selecting nominees for the position of council chairman for the past seven years offer us the opportunity for a contest even if you see that the dice is loaded and you don't take the opportunity to participate and endeavour to show that the dice is loaded in the process, how can one be offered autonomy even if its attached with preconditions and then one opts for continued "direct rule"?
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