Igini, Edevbie being considered – Investigation
By Alade Adisa
As the tenure of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu is coming to an end as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, President Bola Tinubu is considering filing the position with somebody from the Southern part of the country.
Checks by New Daily Prime indicate that two names are being considered for the plum job, they are Mr Mike Igini and Olorogun David Edevbie.
Yakubu was first appointed as the chairman of INEC on October 21, 2015 by the then President Muhammadu Buhari as a replacement for Amina Zakari.who was the acting chairman.
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Yakubu was given a second term in October 2020 by Buhari and hai tenure expires this October.
Who is Mike Igini?
Igini is a lawyer and served two terms as Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa States. He was first appointed in June 2010, by President Goodluck Jonathan, and he was reappointed in 2017 by Buhari.
He is described by many as a fearless operator in the electoral space, and was the face of INEC in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, promising Nigerians that all would be well.
Before the 2023 polls were conducted, he stirred the hornet’s nest by saying the All Progressives Congress, APC, did not conduct its primary for the 2023 governorship poll in Akwa Ibom State where he served before retiring.
At a time, he had a serious face-off with the current Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over the issue of whether Akpabio took part in the senatorial primary of the APC in Akwa Ibom. He later cried out that some people were after him.
In an interview after he has retired and the 2023 polls have come and gone, he said, “I can understand the feelings of extreme disappointment, pain and frustrations of fellow countrymen and women particularly youths, over what was promised and the painful experience they went through during the elections and their unmet expectations.
“We are in these agonizing moments of pain together. l have been down emotionally and still in shock over the level of deviation from established laws, issued guidelines and procedures that we all signed into and that I leveraged, honestly and faithfully to call on Nigerians to participate fully to determine their leaders. I will never be part of any plot or design to deceive Nigerians, may such a day never come in my lifetime.
“My passion for free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria did not begin in 2023. Those who have diligently followed my advocacy for election integrity will remember my zealous exertions and subsequent detention in Enugu before and after the annulment of the June 12 elections in 1993, many also will recall my participation in CODER for electoral reforms after the fiasco that was described as the 2007 general election.”
When it comes to integrity, he is seen as being above average. He is also seen as an advocate for electoral and political reforms in the country.
This newspaper gathered that those pushing him for the position are saying that whatevee happens, his presence would give credibility to the elections.
Their argument is that as the head of INEC, he cannot be everywhere and can not also remove any REC from office, that is the prerogative of the President. They opined that whatever reforms he would want to bring, it is people he would rely on to execute such and that a tree does not make a forest.
However, those opposed to his choice, who are mainly core politicians, say he is too independent minded to be left alone and pushed around to do the biddings of politicians.
To them, is would be a great risk to put somebody like him in such a position, given the nature preparations for the coming polls is taken. It is seems like North versus South agenda.
Olorogun David Edevbie
He was nominated by former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, to serve as the Private Secretary to the then President Umaru Musa Yar Adua in 2007. There was no doubt that Ibori was very influential in the Yar Adua government and reportedly had misunderstanding with the then Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan.
When crisis erupted over Yar Adua’s health and the need to involve the Principle of Necessity that eventually made Jonathan become Acting President and later the President when Yar Adua died. The face-off between Jonathan and Ibori led to the latter leaving the country for Britain where he was eventually convicted of corruption and jailed.
Ibori is also one of those who have the ears of President Tinubu and pushing Edevbie for the INEC post because of Edevbie’s loyalty.
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Recent political developments in Delta State where the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration moved en bloc to the All Progressives Congress was not achieved without the input of Ibori.
Who could be Tinubu’s choice
Though Tinubu is taking his time before announcing his choice of the chairman of INEC, he still has till early October this year to transmit the name to the Senate, political observers are of the view that he may go for Edevbie for some political reasons.
Recent happenings in the political scene and the eventual take off of the anti-Tinubu coalition, have meant that nothing will be spared by political gladiators come 2027.
