IWU: GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH

Considering the magnitude of the moral barrenness which the former chairman of INEC, Professor Maurice Iwu stood for during the months when he held sway as the chief electoral umpire in the country, many will regard his sack as a welcome development. Iwu spent fifty seven months in office. These months were shadowed by controversies due to the many ways his commission compromised that which it was supposed to stand for. It may be important to note that he was appointed by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo to replace Abel Guobadia whose tenure was ignoble due to the electoral havoc of the 2003 general election.
Prior to the 2007, Iwu promised to conduct free and fair elections. He went ahead to introduce the use of electronic voting machines (EVM) which was later rejected by the National Assembly due to the failure of the machine to curb multiple voting. In the build-up to the 2007 general election, Maurice Iwu turned himself into an appendage of Obasanjo by implementing the draconian intents of the grandmaster of ‘do-or-die’ politics. He disqualified notable politicians like Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amachi and Ifeanyi Ararume who were perceived to be Obasanjo’s political enemies due to trump-up charges and administrative indictment.
The 2007 general elections remain the worst in the history of this country. The election was roundly condemned by the international community due to the high level of electoral malpractices like ballot box snatching, arson, thuggery and fictitious results. This is Iwu’s albatross, considering the number of election results that were upturned by electoral tribunals and appeal courts.
The ailing president, Umaru Musa Yar’sdua, the chief beneficiary of the electoral heist, religiously accepted the electoral inadequacies that brought him into office. President Yar’adua inaugurated a panel to rectify that electoral brigandage but the report of the Uwais-led panel was subjected to political maneuvers. As a part of the political footballing, a committee which was set up to examine the report of the Mohammed Uwais panel may rightly be said to have achieved nought.
The international community, civil society and opposition parties continued to call for Iwu’s head purposely because they believed that any purposeful electoral reform would only begin with the removal of the chief electoral rigger. The wind of change that has subsequently led the exit of Iwu will forever be one of the greatest legacies of Goodluck Jonathan, the acting president. His decision will increase his acceptability and credibility level in the country.
Backstage