2019: Accord party tasks INEC on proper election conduct

As the 2019 general election draws near, leadership of one of the leading political parties in the country, the Accord Party has tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on the proper and exemplary conduct of elections devoid of rancour.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Daily Times, the Chairman of the party in Imo State, Elder Ibe ThankGod, said that his party is at the moment crossing the Ts and doting the Is as well as evaluating the performances of the electoral umpire in readiness for the 2019 election.

Elder ThankGod, said that the Professor Yakubu Mahmoud led INEC, should avoid the banana peel and get ready to write its name in the anals of history, unlike that of 2015 conducted by Professor Attahiru Jega which was marred by irregularities.

“We are still watching the umpire, the thing there is that they should be transparent, unlike what happened during the 2015 election, where voting materials where brought late to the voting venue, the failure of the card reader machine at various polling booths and the abuse of incident forms. We are also advocating for the timely arrival of voting materials, with proper logistics to make such a reality.

“All these things should be able to get to the polling units in time and we would not have problems. We are also challenging the lack of result sheets at polling units, INEC should be able to write results at the polling units to avoid results being rewritten along the road to the collation centers, which amounts to election manipulation.

“So if they should be able to tackle all these and for INEC to conduct a credible election they should be able to correct the flaws that was recorded in Edo State governorship election, where adhoc workers will come with a different result from what was declared at the poling units. Then we cannot give them credit and for people to trust them.”

According to the state chairman, INEC, just have to start doing something to checkmate earlier flaws and win the confidence of the generality of Nigerian. He said that it is still early to fathom what the umpire is doing. “If people should start trusting them now, then we might be deceived on the long run.

But what I am also saying is that we need to start monitoring them from the process of distribution of the materials from the distribution centre to the polling units and to the collation till the announcing of the result.”

Elder ThankGod, speaking on his party’s manifesto, he observed that what the party intends to do in Imo State, is to bring government closer to the people, that is to bring government to the grassroots, through providing infrastructures, providing job opportunities and enabling environment.

He said that as a political party, Accord came third during the 2015 Gubernatorial election in Imo State and because it fielded the best candidate and eventually emerged third in the election.

Speaking about the 2019 general election, he said “We are putting our house in order and presently, we are doing our membership drive and I can stand tall to tell you that we can win the next governorship of Imo State.

In Imo State, people go to the best candidate and whoever provides the best candidate wins and we are not saying that it must be Accord, but if we can provide the best candidate, why not and as it stands in our party policy we have always provide the best candidates.”

On the Permanent Voters Card (PVC), the Accord chairman said that it has kick started the sensitisation drive of all its members across the country to encourage the process and get the voting material as a weapon against their opponents.

He stated that “When INEC announced the time table, we held a town hall meeting, we held meetings and we make consultations, we visited voters’ registration centers and units for registration.

We also tried to reach out to people by sensitising them through the media. And we are getting the responses while the process is ongoing.”

On the party primaries, he stated that efforts are being made to ensure that the better candidates are selected to represent the party stating that the party is working towards that.

For instance he revealed that the party last week held its National convention. “what we are doing is not to jump the gun, because the INEC has just released its time table to the nation, but not to the political parties, so we will wait as the process will run from late August to October, so there is pretty good time for all these and it is a process.

“And we know we are going to chose a candidate within the time INEC lifts ban on electoral programmes and I know that we are going to do that.

But we are working based on the time table and also with the party schedule, when the party will organise its primaries at the zonal levels it is within this period that we can now have to choose who becomes our candidate through election.”

On grassroots mobilisation, the chairman said it remains the party’s priority, noting that Accord party, has a very good party structure in Imo State, “it is a unique state, all you need to do and all the people who vie for election in Imo State need to do is to sell their party manifesto to the people, their party ideas because over 80 percent of voters in Imo are not registered members of any political party.

So they wait for the candidate to emerge and sometimes they wait till three to four days to election before they chose after accessing the candidates.

But all we need to do as a party is to sell our party product that is those who are keen to run to the electorates telling them what they will be getting from the party.”

Whether his party will accept defeat if it happens, he noted that Accord party, will honourably accept outcome of any election, devoid of any gerrymandering.

“Well I want to say something here, the party can only accept such if we lose election that was well conducted. And that is why we as a party, do not send just anybody to represent us as party agents.

Our party agent should be trusted persons who protects our votes and cannot sign the result sheet he or she is not sure of. I can tell you this because rigging of the election begins from the polling both.

If you do not trust your agent, be it at the local government level, ward level or state level, consider yourself having lost that particular election, because your agent must sellout because he or she must have compromised to sign the result sheet given to him there.

So we as a party will work with the result monitored by our agent and these agents must be trusted. And I cannot be everywhere at the same time and also at INEC office or at Owerri or Orlu.

If the party agent have a different number and at the INEC office the result sheet reads something else, then with confidence on your agent you can now challenge the result. So what we are saying is that we intend getting credible people as agents and that is the only way we can be sure of the result.”

Presenting a national candidate, Elder ThankGod noted that the party is discussing with a lot of people. And every political party would like to field a presidential candidate and a credible one.

For example, he said that the party is working towards weighing some options. He said that Accord will surely present a candidate.

“God willing we are going to present a credible candidate, the one that will be accepted by the generality of Nigerians. Till we get there. But I will assure you of something, we are working on credibility because the interest of the masses is our priority.

For example, anyone who wishes to run as presidential candidate must not be a money bag, it has to do with who the person is and where the person is coming from. I can tell you that there are even some people who have the money but their wives cannot cast votes for them.”

The background and thorough check of all candidates from the house of assembly to the National Assembly to governorship and Presidential election, remains a priority, he said, “we still have an input to say who is this person, does he have the interest of the masses as a priority. See, there are two different things here.

If you go through the manifestos of the party’s candidates, there are two different things. All have wonderful manifestos but the difference now is who under which party is willing to do all they promised.

“And at that point that is why I said that people should be checked, for example in Orlu East, where I come from, for Gods’ sake I have a family where I come from, I have a kindred and village at that level, we can ask questions and by so doing we can get what we want in a candidate.

So we would not give a ticket to people who will mess it up. We will offer tickets to people who are trusted and when they are there then one rest assured.”

He also advised intending candidates and the electorates, to eschew money politics since money is not everything. Also that people should do a thorough check before taking a token to sell their votes.

For example in Imo State, Elder ThankGod, observed that what happens at other party levels is how much a candidate can buy vote. “But the narrative is changing and we have been telling them to look well before accepting money or selling their votes. And we are trying also to educate them.

Because what people do not know is that when anyone gives away one thousand naira to a voter, the voter does not have any moral right to question him over non performance.

“The voter has only succeeded in mortgaging himself as long as the person is in power. And we do not ask this questions, when you receive 5 naira or 10 naira from him or her then at the end of the month, the governor or senator will collect over 60 billion naira and some of them even go ahead to claim that they bought their votes, so we encourage people to not vote the name of political parties, but vote the tested candidate irrespective of the party platform.

But with this kind of check, the people can boldly approach the person and demand the achievements to the people, this is the kind of governance I suggest and all my life, I have been an advocate of good governance and since I joined politics and that have been the dream in me to see that the dream of my people come true.”

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The party can only accept such if we lose election that was well conducted. And that is why we as a party, do not send just anybody to represent us as party agents. Our party agent should be trusted persons who protects our votes and cannot sign the result sheet he or she is not sure of. I can tell you this because rigging of the election begins from the polling both. If you do not trust your agent, be it at the local government level, ward level or state level, consider yourself having lost that particular election,