ADAMAWA: Obasanjo’s ex-aide faults INEC’s insistence on holding supplementary polls

(Politics) (Umar Ardo)

ADAMAWA: Obasanjo’s ex-aide faults INEC’s insistence on holding supplementary polls

Despite a court ruling barring it from carrying out supplementary elections in the state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the supplementary governorship election scheduled for March 23 would be conducted in 14 local government areas of Adamawa State.

The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Kasim Gaidam, announced this on Sunday in Yola, stating that the election would be conducted in 29 Wards (Registration Areas) and 44 Polling Units where over 40,000 votes were earlier cancelled in the recent governorship selection.

He said, “The Commission had prepared for the Supplementary Governorship election in the state. The election is going to be conducted in 14 LGAs, 29 Wards and 44 Polling Units spread across the state,”

Gaidam listed the local areas to include Yola South, Fufore, Ganye, Girei, Guyuk and Hong. Others are Lamurde, Numan, Madagali, Michika, Mubi North, Shelleng, Song and Toungo local government areas.

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Meanwhile Umar Ardo, a former Special Assistant to both President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has advised the electorate in Adamawa state to boycott Saturday’s supplementary election in the state, faulting INEC’s decision to proceed with the exercise in spite of a court order to the contrary.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, Ardo said; “I just read a news item that a Yola High Court has issued an Order on INEC not to proceed with its 23 March scheduled rerun election in Adamawa State but the commission is ignoring the order, stating that the court lacked jurisdiction over the federal establishment and would therefore go ahead with the rerun election.

“In my opinion, if it is actually true a court indeed issued an order and INEC refused to comply then INEC is clearly at fault. It is not only wrong but is a clear path to anarchy. Because if a court of competent jurisdiction gives Orders, and it is duly served, then we are all duty bound to obey no matter how fallible that order may be.

“This is an irreducible element of due process of rule of law on all citizens, bodies and authorities in society. To come up with any self-interpretation of law as excuse of disobedience is simply self-serving, to say the least.

“The court obviously knows the provisions of the law and the extent of its jurisdictions when it gave the order. Under the Nigerian constitution, it is not for INEC nor for anyone else’s for that matter, but for the court’s, to interpret the law”, he said.

According to him, since the electoral umpire would not respect the court order, the Adamawa electorate would do well to also boycott the exercise.

“Consequently, if indeed a court has issued an order to INEC and it is duly served, I strongly advise that INEC complies with the order if it does not want to throw our society into anarchy. INEC not complying will only further complicate issues and project the commission as pursuing a predetermined agenda.

“If INEC has an issue with such an order it should appeal against it within the due process of law, but to ignore it blatantly just because it doesn’t agree with it is the highest act of impunity. If we all ignore and act against court orders that we don’t agree with, then we’ll have no society to cohabit in.

“I am sure neither the court nor the society would congratulate INEC for disobeying court order. That is my candid opinion and advise to the commission.

“But if INEC insist on disobeying this order then I advise all concerned political parties and the Adamawa electorate, as law abiding bodies and citizens, to boycott the exercise, not to indulge in INEC’s act of impunity and allow the commission to trample the order all by itself”, he stated.

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