NAPS, 2021/22 ELECTIONS: THE ROLES OF “THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW” IN A QUESTIONABLE ELECTORAL PROCESS

OPINION: By Caleb Inioluwa Faniyan

The elections for the Nigerian Association of Psychology students, the University of Ibadan Chapter which commenced at about 8:30 am is one of the freest elections ever witnessed. It was so free to the extent that people who did not pay their basic dues were allowed to cast their votes, contravening the provisions of the Constitution. I hope the sarcasm dripping from these words went unnoticed At the commencement of the voting exercise, members of the Nigerian Association of Psychology students in the University of Ibadan trooped to the polling booth. While some members of the Press, according to tradition, were also there to observe and ensure the smooth running of the election, they were denied direct access to the handling of the ballot papers and accreditation of voters by the Returning officer.

The procedure went on seemingly smooth with the press updating NAPSITEs through its usual live reports. At exactly 3 pm, the electoral process which seemed absolutely fair at the time was brought to an end. The ballot boxes were then moved to the faculty secretariat by the electoral commissioners in the presence of members of the press, and agents of the candidates. Before the counting of the votes began, the President of the association, Mr. Idoko Adoyi asked the INEC (Independent NAPS Electoral Commission) returning officer to give the total number of NAPSITES who exercised their franchise in the election. After looking through the records, the Returning officer of the electoral commission declared that the total number of votes cast by NAPSITES was 149 (one hundred and forty-nine).

The counting of votes started shortly afterward with the office of the AGS. After the counting of the office of the AGS, the total number of votes amounted to 155 (One hundred and fifty-five), to the amazement of everyone present. When asked the reason why a single office has 155 votes when the total number of voters was 149, the returning officer and his commissioners responded by saying it could have been a result of electorates putting the wrong ballot paper into the ballot box for the office of the AGS.

It was agreed that another unopposed post should be counted to determine if the speculations of the returning officer and his electoral commissioners were true.

The votes for the office of the PRO, which was unopposed, were counted and the number magically arrived at was 163, now to everybody's amusement.

Pressmen present, agents, and the President of the association questioned the electoral commission as to what was happening. It was discovered that even though the President of the association, who is expected to have paid his dues, was made to go through the due process of accreditation before he was allowed to vote. However, the electoral commission, in their wisdom and generosity allowed a “Mr. Peter” and God-knows-who-else to vote by mere words of the mouth confirming that they had paid their basic dues, thereby contravening the provisions of the NAPS, UI Chapter Constitution in its Chapter 4, Article 14, Section II, Sub-section III.

While the returning officer took the blame for the known NAPSITE that voted without proper accreditation, the milk had been spilled, therefore, tears were useless at that point. As a result of the constant irregularities and suspicion of foul play in the election, the agents and pressmen present refused to continue counting the votes until a proper explanation was given by the Returning officer as to why the number of votes for a single office miraculously surpassed the total number of votes cast by NAPSITES.

After a while, the Returning officer, the Deputy Speaker, and some commissioners left the venue where the votes were being counted to discuss in camera. A few minutes later, they came inside with the lucky number 157, claiming it was the total number of NAPSITES that voted.

When told to give a breakdown of how they arrived at this number, the Returning officer stated that in 100 level, 47 students voted, in 200 level, 48 students voted, in 300 level, 54 students voted, and in 400 level, 7 students voted. When these numbers were added up, the result was 156. When questioned by a freshman as to why the numbers add up to 156 and not 157 as the returning officer claimed, some electoral commissioners retorted that it had probably been a slip of the tongue. The irony! After a few lists were looked through, it was discovered that some voters were not accounted for and this caused an uproar. The president stepped in and stated that the reason for the gathering is to count the votes and that the votes would be counted regardless of the irregularities. Pressmen and some agents present refused and this led to more hullabaloo with different parties raising their voices at one another.

However, after several attempts by the president to calm the various parties involved, it was agreed that the counting of votes should continue and aspirants have the right to appeal if the results of the elections are not favorable. With this, the counting of votes continued hitch-free, and with the irregularities in numbers of votes increasing. At the end of it all, it was decided that the irregularities in the number of votes cast for an office and the total number of votes were a result of wrong ballot papers being dropped in the wrong boxes. However, this is a blatant lie and is very far from the truth which the press is known to uphold.

Taking the office of the Social secretary as an example, there were 158 votes in total, and no other votes were counted for that office apart from those of the social secretary which were in the ballot box. This leaves us with 2 extra votes which cannot be accounted for. For the office of the President, there were 162 votes in total. Only a single vote was found in the ballot box meant for the office of the President which was not supposed to be there. The other 161 votes were cast in favor of the President, however, only 156 NAPSITES voted. Did extraterrestrial beings cast the remaining 5 votes which were unaccounted for? These are questions begging for answers! While the election was very free, it was very far from being fair!

The Press, in Article 3, Section 3, Sub-section 3 of the NAPS, UI Chapter constitution, has been charged to uphold the pillars of Justice, Fairness, and Integrity, and it will continue to do this as long as it exists. As far as these principles of Justice, Fairness and Integrity are concerned, if this is truly a democratic setting, and we are learning to become better individuals than the unscrupulous set of people plaguing this great nation, this election is far from over!