Burning Of INEC Offices Won’t Stop 2023 Elections-Adegboruwa

May 31, 2021
May 31, 2021
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Buhari shouldn't contemplate using INEC offices' burning as excuse for  tenure extension –Adegboruwa - Punch Newspapers
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist,Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on Sunday said burning of the of the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will not stop the 2023 elections from going ahead as scheduled.
Adegboruwa,SAN,urged Nigerians to be on guard against surreptitious bid to extend President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure on account of the burning of electoral commission’s offices and other violence in the country.
He said in a statement that the burning of INEC offices seems to be calculated at incapacitating INEC to conduct next general elections,wondering if  the  development can possibly  spell an extension of the President’s tenure if INEC is not able to successfully conduct election.
He said:”We are a nation governed by law and the most important one is the constitution. The tenure of the current President cannot be extended by one second; whether Nigeria burns or rain or brimstones fall from heaven. As long as we are still operating this constitution, the tenure of this president is predictable, it’s determined, it’s statutory; nobody has any power to extend it.  Even if election does not hold, that will not lead to the extension of the tenure of the current President. The constitution is clear about what happens if election does not hold”.
He maintained  there is no reason why election should not hold in Nigeria,adding that the growing violence  in the South-East now is not as bad as what we had in the North-East in 2015 and elections held successfully then.
He said it is possible to isolate particular zones and areas where there may be violence for election to hold in other areas where there is peace and when there is a return of peace, INEC can  always go back to conduct elections in those places”.
According to him,the time lag for transition is so elongated in the constitution that nobody can use that (South-East situation) to birth a third-term agenda for the current President.
He added:” Let INEC not sell that dummy to anybody. Whether there are fifth columnists within this regime that are being paid to go and orchestrate violence in the South-East by burning INEC offices and whether even INEC headquarters in Abuja is burnt down, this current regime will expire in 2023! No Jupiter can extend that tenure! So, if anybody is doing that for the purpose of getting any illegal extension, they should better have a rethink because Nigerians will not accept it”.
“We will not accept an extension of the tenure of this regime, we will not accept a military rule; we will not accept anything that will elongate this wickedness, suffering and violence! And it is not a new thing for us to demand that the tenure of this regime should end; if the President will not reward us with good governance, at least he can reward us with integrity by sticking to the oath that he took on the 29th of May 2019 when he was sworn in for second term”.
“There is no provision for being sworn in for third term, either by extension or failure to conduct election. So, for me, Nigerians are ready; we are not blind people and we are not daft. Whatever is going on in the South-East, in terms of INEC offices, all these press conferences that the INEC Chairman is holding and sending warnings, he is only warning himself; it doesn’t concern us as Nigerians”.
“Whatever happens, this particular Muhammadu Buhari regime will come to an end in 2023. That idea (tenure extension) cannot hold water, nobody should sell it, nobody should dream about it, we will not accept it as a nation”.
Meanwhile,the  Independent National Electoral Commission has reported another of its facility in Njaba local government Area of Imo torched by assailants who Sunday set it ablaze.
INEC National commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education, Barrister Festus Okoye disclosed this in a statement, quoting report by Prof Francis Ezeonu, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for IMO state.
He said no lives were lost in the incident adding however that the instant case has brought to 42 the  number of INEC offices that has come under vicious attack across the country since 2019.
He said :”Our Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Imo State, Professor Francis Ezeonu, has reported that our office in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State was set ablaze today Sunday 30th May 2021.
“Although no life was lost, the building was substantially burnt down, along with electoral materials, office equipment and furniture.This attack is coming exactly a week after our office in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of the State was vandalized on Sunday 23rd May 2021. It is also the 8th INEC office to be attacked in Imo State since the 2019 General Election”.
He noted that INEC  buildings, infrastructure and equipment are critical national assets that guarantee the continuity of electoral activities throughout the federation.
He added:”Attacking these offices is not in the national interest and has the capacity of compromising electoral activities and the credibility of the democratic process
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