By Ehichioya Steve Odion
With the past elections held in Nigeria till date, it has shown clearly that the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not generally performed to the expectations of the generality of Nigerians.
It is based on this low performance of the electoral body in the country that you see members of political parties, especially the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, boasting of no vacancy in the Aso Rock Villa, the nation's seat of power.
I believe it is time for those who love this country and really believe in Nigeria's democracy to begin to mobilize other Nigerians to continue to put pressure on the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu and the National Assembly Members to ensure all the necessary things are put in place to have a credible, free and acceptable elections come 2027.
Some of the utterances you are presently hearing from some prominent members of the ruling party, such that came from the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio last time when he said President Bola Tinubu will get 99% of votes in the South South region and the new song of Governor Monday Okpebholo for Tinubu that he will conveniently secure 2.5 million votes for him in the 2027.
These boastful comments are hollow and unrealistic as they are, gain relevance because of the loop holes in the electoral system in the country which have set the nation back in the area of governance.
I bet you, if INEC lives up to expectations of Nigerians and conduct free and fair elections come 2027 the unthinkable will happen as many of those boastful politicians will be highly disappointed and many of them will be casualties in the exercise, especially those National Assembly Members planning to retain their offices.
Let me challenge those boastful politicians galivanting across the country giving President Tinubu unnecessary hope that he is unstoppable to equally come out boldly to give their full support to the electoral reforms and wait for the results come 2027.
Note that the reform is for all political parties and Nigerians. Therefore, let everyone embrace it to achieve results that will usher in good governance instead of having those who lack basic principles of governance in government.
I also think that President Bola Tinubu is not left out in this issue as we have seen him at different fora equally boasting that he will crush all other candidates that will contest with him in the 2027 Presidential election. I equally challenge President Tinubu to lead the crusade for electoral reforms instead of boasting and relying on the loop holes in the electoral system which have made free and fair elections impossible in the country. If he believes he has done enough to deserve a second tenure, he should let the electoral reforms be one of his agenda to achieve before 2027.
As for the opposition parties in the country, especially those presently pursuing party registration with the INEC should first of all face the issue of full electoral reforms. Because if proper things are not done with the bad state of the electoral system in the country, the nation's quest for good governance will be like a mirage in the desert.
Those seeking new parties registration in my view are wasting their time pursuing what is not achievable, because the essence of trying to get a party registered is for the purpose of winning elections to enthrone good governance.
This is where we expect the civil society groups to come out and help other Nigerians to pursue this issue of electoral reforms to its logical conclusion. I believe if achieved, will enable the citizens to vote for credible individuals and enjoy good governance at the end.
There is no doubt that President Bola Tinubu is very much aware that he has not done enough for Nigerians that will earn him a second term in office. In fact he knows he has not fulfilled any of his electoral promises other than living large with all his cabinets, while telling poor Nigerians to bear with him. His main and only hope is the electoral body which lacks the will and ability to conduct free and fair election and he is expecting to benefit from it if the reforms are not carried out before the elections in 2027.
Let me strongly advice those political parties that really believe in making a change that will benefit the generality of Nigerians come 2027 to first of all pursue this issue of electoral reform with vigor and everything they have and ensure tangible result is achieved, before going into the election proper. But if they are unable to achieve this, they should stop wasting their energy and resources towards the 2027 general elections.
Who is actually afraid of electoral reforms? Is it President Bola Tinubu or the National Assembly Members or Nigerians?
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