By Correspondent in Abuja.
Mr Kenneth Ukeagu.
With less than 14 months into all important general elections in2023, doubt, Nigerians are looking forward with all sense optimism to 2023 for another general elections during which another set of leaders will be elected to move the country to the next level of social, economic and polical development.
All hands are,therefore, on deck to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), the nation electoral umpire,to ensure the success of planned national assignment.
President Muhammadu Buhari, recently set the ball rolling toward actualising the goal of the election by appointing Mr Kenneth Ukeagu,a man political analysts and technocrats adjudge as an accomplished election logistics strategist.
Alhaji Aminu Alkali, Chairman, National Integration Forum (NIF), a political pressure group, described the president’s action as setting a good precedent with the appointment of Ukeagu, noting that it was the first time an INEC employee would be appointed into the exalted position in the commission.
According to him, the appointment was not only consequent on political exigency but also based purely on experience and due diligence Mr Ukeagu is known for in his contribution to national development.
Alkali anchored his belief on the fact that Ukeagu had gathered adequate experience in his 30 years stint at INEC most of which he spent in organising logistics for elections till he became the Director of Procurement.
“Ukeagu’s appointment is unique, being the first member of staff or an insider to be so appointed by any president; President Buhari needs to be commended for the innovation, sense of judgment, and the futuristic reforms in the commission,’’ he stressed.
The Chairman of NIF added,”Aside being a round peg in a round hole, the appointment is an indication that hard work pays and it will encourage members of staff of the Commission to look up to scaling to top of the ladder as well as usher in unfettered commitment that will boost the nascent democracy.”
He noted that the appointment was a further step taken to discourage corruption in electoral system as well as a step in the president’s usual manner of refining the system.
Mr. Hakim Afolabi of the Centre for Transparency and Accountability,who also made comments on the appointment said, “It was not made to deny or diminish any state or region of slots but based on national interest which sometimes should be injected and blended into critical institutions.’’
“I see the appointee making critical and substantial inputs into the electoral process because of his institutional experience.
“President Buhari has thus set a precedent in the history of the Commission, a goal which no one can fault.
He also described President Buhari’s action as representing rising hope for other employees and an energiser for more commitment, honesty, hard work, integrity for them to boost INEC efforts for the attainment of much credible polls in the country.
” It is now in the mind that there is brighter future and not vain toil.Ken’, as he is popularly known, will not be required to go through the ropes on the job because he is in his original turf. Time is of essence because elections are here.
“NASS should regard this appointment as dramatic injection of reforms and an encouragement that would give birth to a better tomorrow.
“It is a blow to mediocrity that had dogged the Commission and the political landscape in the past,”he said.
Also bearing his mind on the appointment, the National Vanguard for the Nigerian State (NVNS) says election management being practical could only be efficient when professional experience, logistic and technical knowledge, data analytic skills and innovative technology come to play.
“All these Ukeagu has acquired over the last 30 years as an insider in INEC,” he observed.
Dr Andrew Asemota, NVNS National Coordinator, argued that though appointment of professors as national commissioners was good, the professors were experts in their various fields and not necessarily in election management.
According to him, election management required special skills, innovation and vast experience and knowledge that would assist the process, when driven by professionals.
“You cannot know more than the person who has been in the scheme and system for more than 30 years,’’ he argued.
He noted that with general elections gradually gathering momentum, the likes of Ukeagu, a sociologist by training, were needed to boost the system and ensure hitch-free conduct of elections.
He stressed that time was too short to appoint people who had no adequate electoral and election experience, especially in logistics,an area i Ukeagu is well-grounded.
A Kaduna-based social media influencer and political analyst, Mr. Alex Ibrahim, who also gave kudos to the president on the appointment, said that Ukeagu’s appointment should be seen as neutral and devoid of political as well as ethnic encumbrances.
As expected, the announcement of appointment of Ukeagu has elicited jubilation, ecstasy and sighs of relief at INEC Headquarters,Abuja.
The profile of Ukeagu shows
is the first serving or even retired INEC employee to be appointed as National Commissioner since the Commission was created in 1999.
Ukeagu, an indigene of Abia State,has a lot enviable achievements to his credit.
Beyond being a sociologist, he is also credited for acquiring many trainings in electoral management both within and outside Nigeria, including in the U.S, the bastion of democracy.
His career in INEC spans over 30 years, where he cut his teeth as a member of the National Youth Service Corps member in the Commission and rose through the ranks to become an electoral manager, especially in electoral logistics.
He worked on several election rounds as Electoral Logistics Officer at the INEC Headquarters, Abuja,The new appointee was Director, Logistics in Electoral Operations who leveraged on his technical experience and electoral managerial skills to boost the smooth conduct of general elections in 2011, 2015, and 2019.
Mr. Ukeagu is also credited for developing logistics plans for procurement and delivery of materials required for electoral activities,including those used in 2003 general elections.This is addition to developing the transportation plan for the nationwide deployment of men and materials for the conduct of voters’ registration and the 2003 general elections.
As if these feats are not enough, the profile also revealed that Ukeagu designed ballot papers and result sheets used for the conduct of the 2007 general elections and successfully handled deployment of men and materials for the elections.
He also developed Advisory Architecture for securing men and materials deployed for the 2007, 2010 and 2015 general elections and noted to be behind the introduction of customisation of ballot papers and result sheets deployed for the 2011 and 2015 General Elections.
Election analysts agree that Ukeagu’s plethora of achievements and ingenuity reduced time spent in result management at the end of polling and the cost of materials with positive reflection in the actual number of political parties participating in the elections.
Some members of staff of INEC,who reflect on the enviable impact on Ukeagu in his public service to the Commission, expressed the confidence that he would bring his wealth of experience and knowledge to bear in his assignment as an election manager in logistics and procurement of election materials to the fore.
Some said the appointment came at the right time when the commission was looking for a competent hand to its logistics programmes, to guard against delays in procurement of election materials which they noted often resulted in rescheduling of election dates.
The rescheduling of general election dates, which are usually fixed over one year ahead,would become a thing of the past as Ukeagu would work with other members of the Commission to follow dates scheduled for each activity, some noted, according to some staff of the electoral umpire, the staff hoped
They added that though other national commissioners were experts in their various fields of endeavour, the knowledge and experience of Ukeagu, as electoral logistics manager, could not be wished away with levith.
They, however, called on him to bring a lot of changes in the management of elections, reminding him that he is only be part of implementers of the Commission’s activities and programmes but policy makers.
Other staff maintained that the appointment of Ukeagu, a servicing Director in the Commission, was a morale booster for the staff of INEC as it would go along way in encouraging them to put in their best in the service of the Commission.
They said that Ukeagu’s appointment, had becone an eye opener for them, that their contributions to the work of INEC were being noticed and appreciated, adding that the development would motivated them to enable them to be more dedicated to duty.
In all, the employees appreciated Federal Government’s gesture and expressed and called for more of such appointments of serving and even retired Directors of the Commission.
They attested that “Mr. Ukeagu is a man of character and principles, a man of vision; a detribalised Nigerian; a thoroughbred disciplinarian; humane and believes in well-being of others and highly innovative, mobile and hardworking and apolitical.”
Keen observers of polical development in Nigeria said with the bold step taken by President Muhammadu Buhari in appointing the right calibre of people in the election management toward 2023, there was high hope that Nigerians would get the election they deserved- free, rancour-free and above all, credible election in the next 14 months.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
