MY TAKE ON THE INEC TIMETABLE

 

By  Ayodeji Adegbite 

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, a couple of weeks ago unveiled the timetable for party primaries and general elections scheduled to hold between 2022 and 2023. 

This was consequent upon the signing into law of the amended Electoral Bill after it was transmitted for the second time to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent as stipulated by the Constitution. 

Stakeholders have been making their views known on various clauses in the new Electoral Act but the one that catches my attention is the Time frame between party primaries and the election proper; this is where I will like to lend my opinion. The length of time between the primaries of political parties and the main election as released by the INEC Chairman could be problematic- for one, it will allow for about three years of committed work by an elected officials, who will be seeking another term and one whole year for politicking.

In cases of some elected officials seeking re-election who lose their tickets at the primaries, they may lose enthusiasm for their current jobs. Some may even get lackadaisical in their duties as there may be no keenness to serve the people any longer. 

For the ones who still want to continue serving with zeal, they may no longer have a grip on the system, as it is common for most civil servants to shift allegiance and commitment to their principals. This will not augur well for the system as workers are expected to be loyal to the government of the day till it its last day in office. Workers shifting allegiance and loyalty to a chief executive, who is yet to be sworn in to perform constitutional duties is an invitation to systemic dysfunction. This violates the cherished civil service norms and values of impartiality, anonymity and insulation from partisan politics. This will further encourage corruption as some elected officials who lose, may start devising different means of enriching themselves since they would have nothing at stake. As recently witnessed, where some elected officials will want to use this huge time frame to acquire new liabilities, bogus loans and afterthought employments to create problems for incoming administrations. 

I believe the wheel of governance should not be made to ground to a halt by distractions of the election season as the electorate should not be shortchanged on quality service delivery by elected officials.

*Ayodeji  Adegbite writes from Ado-Ekiti