Igini Still In Shock Over Deviation From Guidelines For 2023 Election

Erstwhile Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC for Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, Mr Mike Igini is still in shock and emotionally down over the conduct of the 2023 General Election saying that the process deviated from the issued guidelines and procedures earmarked by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Igini who is one of Nigeria’s respected electoral reform advocates had in the days to the February 25 presidential election repeatedly asserted that it would be the best in the history of the country and that the poll cannot be rigged based on established guidelines.

GWG.ng reports that following the shambolic conduct of the election that many persons came to the public space to allege that their faith and confidence Igini put in his advocacy made them to have a fake belief on a smooth process. Some went as far as alleging that Igini deceived them.

However, in a sharp response, Igini in an interview lamented the conduct of the election saying that it deviated from established guidelines and procedures.

Igini who spoke to Vanguard’s Johnbosco Agbarakwu 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.

“Those who are keen on elections will also recall how I took the same passion to my supervisory roles in the regulation of the electoral process as a Resident Electoral Commissioner in Cross River, intervention missions in Anambra, Imo state Guber elections in both 2011 and 2015, Edo, and later Akwa-Ibom states.

“Frankly, l don’t think I did anything wrong by the weekly voters’ and civic education that I gave to Nigerians without being paid a dime at a time that l had offers for a consultancy that I politely declined because l wanted to be objective in seeing to the implementation of the process that I was part of putting in place before my tenure ended last year,” Igini said in claiming his shock over the deviations in the conduct of the 2023 election.

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