ISMAIL OMIPIDAN: THE FORMAL TRIBUNAL HEARINGS BEGIN TOMORROW IN OSUN STATE
Election Petitions Tribunal decisions in the past have significantly deepened the nation's election system. Therefore, I am confident that as it did earlier, Osun's case will serve as a litmus test for all important stakeholders as we get ready for the general elections of 2023.
The Tribunal's findings would undoubtedly be shocking, especially since Osun will be the first location where the BVAS report is being critically examined since the BVAS (Bimodal Voters Accreditation System) was implemented by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
A flawless process would have been ensured to the best of INEC's ability. However, there is going to be room for improvement because those charged with using the technology are not angels.
I, therefore, make bold to say that the outcome of the Osun Election Petitions Tribunal will go a long way in making INEC fill some gaps that might have been noticed ahead of the 2023 General Elections, just as the National Assembly would also be guided appropriately when proposing further amendments to the Electoral Act in the future. This is even more so because most of the reforms we have today as part of our electoral laws were borne out of the decisions of the court.
In essence, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola's choice to contest the results of the Osun Governorship election on July 16 could never be interpreted as a challenge to INEC's impartiality. Not at all.
Instead, Oyetola deserves praise for choosing the road of decency and the rule of law, as well as for strengthening the nation's democratic principles and election system.
What matters are on the Tribunal's agenda? Fundamentally, Senator Nurudeen Jackson Ademola Adeleke's right to run for office is being contested by the All Progressives Congress, or APC, and its candidate in that election, Oyetola. They are also disputing INEC's claim that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Adeleke, its candidate in that race, did not receive the required number of votes to be proclaimed the victor of the July 16 governorship election.
Which facts support the issues raised?
Keep in mind that Senator Adeleke, who was proclaimed the winner by INEC, was the subject of criminal accusations of exam fraud in 2019.
After being detained, he was hauled to court. After being given bail, he left the country. But he did not appear once more until well over a year before the July election.
It's interesting to note that although he claimed to have registered for the GCE O' Level in 1981, he only received an F9 in English Language and was absent from class for other courses.
Ironically, he also listed as having a Diploma Certificate in Criminology from Jacksonville State University (JSU), from which he allegedly graduated in 1986, in his profile on the National Assembly website at the time.
The university's director of public relations, Buffy Lockette, refuted the aforementioned assertion during an inquiry by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, or ICIR, at the time.
While it was true that Senator Adeleke had registered at the institution, the ICIR fact check also showed that he was never given a certificate.
Using examination number 19645/149, a second query from the West African Examination Council's website at the time to confirm Senator Adeleke's O' level result displayed at the time yielded the following results: I m"result not available for this candidate in the specified year and exams diet." So, as at 2018, he had no O-level results.
However, upon his return, he asserted that he already had a diploma from the middle of the previous year, and that this credential had qualified him for a B.Sc. in Criminal Justice from the American college Atlanta Metropolitan State College.
It's interesting that he claimed to have earned the degree just 24 days after receiving the aforementioned diploma.
The APC and its candidate are contesting the election results in 749 polling places spread across 10 Local Governments in addition to contesting the candidate's eligibility, which is a before and post election problem.
Recall that the APC and its candidate requested the BVAS report after the election. According to Section 47(2) of the Electoral Act, the presiding officer shall cast a ballot using a smart card reader or any other electronic equipment that may be specified by the Commission for voter accreditation in order to: "verify, authenticate the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission."
Additionally, INEC had designated the BVAS as the only reliable method of accreditation for the Osun election.
The accreditation through BVAS, however, was fewer than the number of votes cast in those units, according to the Certified True Copy, or CTC, of the report of BVAS across 10 Local Governments in 749 polling units.
But after the APC and its candidate submitted their legal appeals, INEC then sent the PDP a second CTC of the BVAS report, stating that when the first one was sent out, it had not yet synchronized the data in the BVAS.
What was the foundation for announcing the election results will now be under doubt. Is INEC correct to have released two discordant BVAS reports? When the Tribunal starts holding regular sessions tomorrow, it will begin assisting Nigerians in resolving some of these problems as well as many others.
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda, or HEDA, criticized INEC for the apparent uncertainty and stated that the report had caused serious worry due to the apparent discrepancy in the copies sent to the APC and PDP.
Further, it stated: "INEC is alleged to, having discovered the palpable inconsistencies between figures recorded as accredited votes on the ECSA (result sheet) and the BVAS Report, tampered with the contents of the original BVAS report to protect the mandate awarded to Ademola Adeleke and PDP, at the expense of credible election, by issuing a fresh CTC to the defendants, claiming the CTC earlier issued to APC and Oyetola was incomplete and unsynchronised."
"Considering that the Ekiti and Osun elections were conducted and declared on the basis of BVAS, how possible and plausible is it for INEC to have declared a winner from an unsynchronized BVAS? Considering the BVAS report was issued more than 10 days after the Osun election.
"As an Organisation committed to fighting against corruption, financial and electoral..., HEDA is concerned about this development. The Organisation observed the Osun election and engaged the process in collaboration with anti-corruption agencies to campaign against vote buying."
There is little doubt that there will be fascinating days ahead. The two marches the APC recently organized in Osun to rally support for its presidential candidate and his vice presidential running mate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, are a blatant indication that the party is still very well-liked there. It is still the celebration to beat.
Therefore, everyone who backs Governor Oyetola should maintain their composure and avoid the urge to stir up trouble by PDP opponents. "Oyetola will reclaim his mandate," as he predicted during one of his prophetic street walks in Osogbo, where he walked for more than two hours over about 11 kilometers. He reaffirmed this last Thursday when he and his Oyo counterpart officially opened the reconstruction of the 91-kilometer Osogbo Iwo-Ibadan road.
Osun Governor's spokesperson is Omipidan, a former Political Editor with The Sun Newspapers.
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