An electoral observer and member of the West African Democracy Solidarity Network, Austin Aigbe, has said that the People’s Democratic Party should have signed the Peace Accord ahead of the September 21 Edo State guber election, as not signing it has sent a wrong notion to both the opposition parties and the people of Edo State.
Aigbe made this known in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, where he also criticised the PDP calling for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, as he said that regardless of the fact that the party believes the REC is compromised, the REC has a minimal role to play in the election and cannot do so much.
The Edo PDP declined signing the Peace Accord for the September 21 gubernatorial elections in the State, and instead, gave conditions for a free, fair and credible poll.
In response to this, Aigbe said, “Not signing the accord sends a different narrative, sends a different notion entirely. It means the opposition party can easily tell you that you are afraid that you want to lose the elections, that’s one. Two, because you want to engage in violent negotiations, that is two. That is why you have come out that you are not signing. I know that the Peace Accord is a moral document, it has no force of law, but morals is very critical to perception. I will expect that the party would have signed openly and made the comment so clear that we are signing for peace sake, but this, this, this needs to be addressed, otherwise, the election forthcoming cannot be guaranteed by way of free, fair, and credibility”
Also, Tony Aziegbemi, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, formally requested the immediate redeployment of the state’s REC, Professor Anugbum Onuoha, in a protest letter addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, expressing concerns about Onuoha’s impartiality due to his previous roles in the administration of former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
Giving his opinion on this matter, Aigbe said, “I want to further add that if INEC removed the REC today, police IC removes his CP today, and they bring somebody else they don’t also like, will they call for the removal? And once that happens, you’re going to see, beginning from Edo elections, a hurricane of cause for removal of people who opposition don’t like. Again, these are sentiments, these are political permutations, and one has to be very careful in the way we support removal, because I know people talk about being Wike’s cousin. I have said on this show before that the INEC REC have minimal role to play in election.”
“In Edo of 2020, the INEC REC who was from Bayelsa at that time had contested an election under APC AND the PDP also raised the same flag. That individual conducted that election. I use the word vey firmly when I say REC usually perform little or nothing. The REC- if you’re telling me about national commissioners, I will agree with you. If you’re telling me about police, I will agree with you, because the REC, it is the information apparently that he has at his disposal. Who appoints the State Returning Officer? The national. And all of the Ad-Hoc officials? The national. If you put the burden on just the REC, if you remove that REC today and you bring another REC in, if there is that perception that he will not deliver good, we are going to be asking for his removal,” he added.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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