INEC Totally Failed in Anambra – El-Rufai

The ex-Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai, has blasted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Mr. El-Rufai, who quit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now is the Deputy General Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said he had no confidence in INEC’s ability to conduct free and fair elections in Nigeria.

Mr. El-Rufai was detained in his hotel room in Awka, the capital of Anambra State, on November 16, 2013, Saturday. This prevented him from going out to monitor the governorship election in the state.

In a telephone interview with SaharaTV the politician said unless INEC stepped up its game, there would be major problems in the 2015 general elections.

“I don't have that confidence. I think that INEC has a lot of work to do to be able to organize free and fair elections in Nigeria,” he said.

“We, as political parties, are willing to work with INEC to address these problems because we all want the election to be free, fair and credible and we want our democracy to succeed,” he stated.

Mr. El-Rufai cited the recent Delta senatorial by-election and the still unresolved Anambra State gubernatorial election as instances where polling was marred by logistical crises, including bungled voters’ registers.

Commenting on last Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra, Mr. El Rufai decried irregularities in areas considered as strongholds of the APC.

“Anambra Central is the stronghold of the APC. Governor Ngige has very, very strong support there. And what we have seen as a trend, which we knew about, and raised alarms [about] even before the election was the APGA and PDP’s strategy of ensuring that, in areas where we are strong, election material and electoral officers do not appear until it is too late,” he said.

He added that, in spite of the many challenges confronting the electoral process, he was confident that his party was headed for victory.

The ex- FCT Minister described his detention as “illegal” and “unlawful”. Shedding light on his ordeal, Mr. El Rufai said he was having dinner at the Finotel Hotel where he was lodged when an officer of the State Security Service (SSS) showed up accompanied by AK-47 toting police officers and demanded to speak with him. He said the officer told him they had been sent to “protect” him, but that he declined their offer, telling them that he did not need their protection, adding that he was comfortable with his own security arrangement. The policemen left only to show up again the next morning, this time telling him they had instructions from Abuja to confine him to his hotel room.

He said he tried again to leave the hotel around 3 p.m. on Saturday, but the security personnel blocked the hotel’s exit with a vehicle. 

The ex- FCT Minister pointed out that the people of Anambra State deserved commendation for their orderly conduct during the governorship election.
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