A civil society organization, Initiative for Grassroot Advancement (INGRA) has described the nomination of members for the Kogi State Independent Electoral commission (SIEC) as a welcome development.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Hamza Aliyu, INGRA expressed concerns over the decision of Governor Yahaya Bello to appoint card-carrying members of the ruling party to run the affairs of an electoral body that is expected to be fair to all parties.
INGRA also queried the non-inclusion of women and civil society in the membership of the state electoral body.
“The announcement on the 12th February 2020 by the Kogi State Government, through the Spokesperson of the Executive Governor Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, of the composition and forwarding of the members of the Kogi State Independent Electoral commission (SIEC) is a welcome development and will set in motion activities towards the long overdue elections into our local government councils, which had been governed by unelected officials since 2016.
“We however have a few concerns with the membership. It is strange that the Kogi State Government wants to appoint card carrying members of a political party that will have vested interest in the outcome of the elections, as members of the Commission and most importantly as the Chairperson of the commission. This will certainly be providing undue advantage to the political party and will certainly not provided the needed perception of fairness and level playing field needed for a credible election.
“In as much as we are clamoring for elections into the local government councils, there is need for every political party to have a sense of fairness going into the elections
“We are also dismayed that the membership of the Commission is devoid of members of the civil society who have over time shown their capacity and resourcefulness in engaging the electoral process both at State and National levels. There is need for the State Government to look into this issue.
“There is also a glaring absent of women from the commission. This again speaks to the deliberate policy of the State Government in excluding women from the governance structure in the state. We recommend the inclusion of at least 1 woman in accordance with the New Direction policy on gender inclusion,” the statement read.
