By Ayodeji Adegbite
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, few days ago unveiled the timetable for party primaries and general elections scheduled to hold between 2022 and 2023.
This was consequent upon the signing into law of the amended Electoral Bill after it was transmitted for the second time to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent as stipulated by the Constitution.
Stakeholders have been making their views known on various clauses in the new Electoral Act but the one that attracts my attention is on the timeframe between party primaries and the election proper on which I want to lend my opinion.
The time frame between the primaries of political parties and the main election as released by the INEC Chairman is too long; it gives about three years for committed work by elected officials and one year for politicking.
This will encourage less productivity as some elected officials who lose their bid for re-election at the primaries will get lackadaisical in their duties as there would be no enthusiasm to serve the people any longer.
The elected officials would no longer have a grip over the system as most civil servants will shift allegiance and would no longer be committed to their principals.
This will not be good for the system as workers are expected to be loyal to the government of the day to its last day in office. Workers shifting allegiance and loyalty to a chief executive that is yet to be sworn in to perform constitutional duties is an invitation to systemic dysfunction.
This violates the cherished civil service norms and values of impartiality, anonymity and insulation from partisan politics.
It will also encourage corruption as some elected officials who lose, might start devising different means of enriching themselves as they would have nothing at stake.
As witnessed in the recent past, some elected officials will want to use the huge time frame to be involved in acquiring liabilities like bogus loans and afterthought employments to create problems for incoming administrations.
I believe the wheel of governance should not be made to ground to a halt by distractions of the election season as the electorate should not be shortchanged on quality service delivery by elected officials.
AYODEJI ADEGBITE
Ado-Ekiti