Observers in Edo election were disappointed because they didn’t see any fraud – Iriase

Pally Iriase, majority deputy whip in the House of Representatives, in this interview with KEHINDE AKINTOLA and other Legislative Correspondents, spoke on the just-concluded Edo State gubernatorial election and other sundry issues including, budget implementation, electoral reforms, among others. Excerpts:

How would you describe the conduct of the Edo election?
The election in Edo State on the 28th of September was perhaps the most peaceful since 1999. It was the most well conducted, it was free, fair and very credible. It is not because my party won that I am talking the way I’m talking, I am saying this because every keen observer, every genuine observer would come to say that they were highly disappointed. Disappointed in the sense that they came, perhaps, to witness blood-letting, to witness ballot box snatching and stuffing, they came with the view that they would be regaled with stories that the picking up and locking up of the opposition or leadership, but they were disappointed because none of this happened.
Not one opposition leader or member was arrested because of this election. Not a single drop of blood was shed in the course of this election unlike what you had in some other states where governors emerge over the blood of citizens of that state.
What is more was that INEC was at its best. The card reader worked perfectly and they took no nonsense even when one vote couldn’t be reconciled with the result and the accredited voters they nullified in respective of who was to benefit.
I must say what happened is that it is quite easy to use the press to lie. In the course of the electioneering our opponents actually deployed the best they knew how they can use propaganda to profit, they told several lies and, in fact, gained a lot of traction in the campaign environment. But it’s quite easy to tell lies to people who are uninitiated on a matter but those who really know, the Edo election was about siding with two parties that had governed the state.
It was a straight fight between the PDP and the APC, PDP had ruled Edo State for 10 years and APC was ruling Edo State for the eight-year running. Which party had served Edo better, so the choice was not hard for them to make. But in the run up to the campaign and election, the impression was created that other extraneous issues will determine the election.
They also had a field day because the economy was not friendly and it was easy for them to want the populace to believe if APC is at the centre and the economy is having problems, telling us the historical reason for the economic downturn, then the people will listen to them.
You must agree with me that Edo State is one of the highest in terms of educational ability when you scale Nigerian states. It was not hard for them to know that even when they gave it another party, that party cannot by itself turn anything around. It’s a nationwide problem, it’s a federal problem and it has its historical background to it.
They concentrated on the issues and the issues were which party, on the mind of Edolites is given to good governance, but they resolved it in favour of APC.

But there were allegation of people sharing money openly during the election. Is that the kind of change APC is bringing?

I quite appreciate what Agbonayinma said on the issue, it’s very unusual of the Nigeria politician; he’s of the PDP but he buttressed what I have said before, that the election was free, fair and credible. I gave kudos to him that he spoke the truth, and you will recall that when he now said rather than PDP crying wolf over inducement that as far as he was concerned, everyone was guilty of inducement, when it was my turn to speak on that programme, I said taken the leverage from him he has said PDP, LP and those other parties he mentioned were all guilty of financial inducement.
Then the anchor person said you have not mentioned APC and I said I was not aware that APC was guilty of it. So as far as I’m concerned I don’t like people crying foul when there is none; the truth of the matter is that when you say somebody won because he induced the voters is not for press war, you will go to court and prove what you have alleged. You go to the tribunal and prove it.

If there was a giver there must be a taker and you must capture both and the lawyers will want to find out whether there was an exchange or whether it was for electioneering purpose or not. Since nobody wore party emblem that day there are several questions to be asked that determine who was inducing who or for what?
I think it’s just to let those who they have hoodwinked, those that that they had confused into believing that they were very well on ground and that they didn’t lose fairly and all kinds of things.
When INEC said they wanted to accredit civil society organisations to become observers during election, you know these days you can lie a lot with the CSOs and NGOs. From my constituency I could recognise a boy that I mentored until he went over to Pastor Ize-Iyamu, Festus Owu they call him, his name was on the list and a PDP stalwart in my ward, you get the point and there were several of them.
They should go to the tribunals to prove their case and let peace reign everywhere and I must tell you that peace is reigning everywhere in Edo State. There is a limit to the extent you use sponsored protesters.

What is your take on the new electoral reform committee that was just inaugurated last week?
Senator Ken Nnamani said that what they are called upon is not to put away the Uwais report but the Uwais report came several years ago and that in-between that, several elections have come and gone.
And certain things that were not envisaged even in the Uwais report have been thrown up. Take Kogi for an example. No law, no panel had envisaged what happened in Kogi State and this panel will look at ways to handle such a thing if it happens in future.

There is always room for the refinement of any system. I’m happy that Nnamani never said they will jettison Uwais report but rather they would reinforce the good points made by Uwais report.
Don’t forget that whatever recommendation is flowing from these efforts will result ultimately in constitutional amendments and by the 1999 constitution as amended, the place where this amendment can be effected is the National Assembly. Justice will be done to all those issues.
For instance, we need to know that the introduction of the card reader by the former INEC chairman, Professor Jega was a laudable thing but you could see what the law courts have made of it and so there is a grey area in the acceptability or otherwise of the card reader.

What can you make of the implementation of the 2016 Budget?

I think that the National Assembly is poised to improve on the speed the budget proposal that comes from the Executive to the National Assembly is passed back to the Executive for assent and implementation. But 2017 Budget will witness a faster passage than previously but this depends on a number of factors, most importantly is the timing of the submission of the estimates. If the estimates are submitted in good time, it will be passed. We don’t want a situation where a financial year is distorted because of the delay of the passage of the budget. I believe that on our part we will pass the budget as fast as possible.

On Tinubu calling for Odigie-Oyegun’s resignation

I think rather than thinking that all is not well, you should really be happy that you have a party that is not shy to allow its members ventilate their feeling, however lowly or highly placed. Leader of the party is not happy and he says Mr. Chairman should resign an Mr. Chairman says good! But we have procedure; it does not mean all is not well, what it means is that our party is for Nigerians and it is not everything that will be swept under the carpet, under the guise of family affair.
We have such a good thing happening and you are saying we are sick, we are very well, somebody doesn’t like what somebody has done and he has the details – that is what we have promised that you can read us like a book and don’t go looking for what will bring this party down, because it won’t go down.
In the run-up to the Edo election, everybody was going into bets, that Edo primary would scatter us. No matter what agents of destruction did it didn’t work. What Nigerians need is good governance. Not every disagreement will lead to destruction of the party. Nigerians should look for the positive rather than the negative.