AMUPITAN AND INEC’S CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Nick Dazang 

The notion of the Unsung Hero, which has fascinated us and etched itself in our consciousness, must be that of the person who excels at his job and who by so doing, has impacted many lives positively. The Unsung Hero is seldom celebrated, even if he/she is acknowledged grudgingly or in passing.

He/She excels in the background, neither craving nor hugging the limelight. Unlike the narcissist and publicity seeker who flaunts his/her achievements or inflicts himself/herself on us, the Unsung Hero does his/her job, content with anonymity. The Unsung Hero is noted for his/her forbearance, long suffering and inordinate patience in the pursuit of a passion or a vision.

In the newspaper industry, for instance, the Sub-Editor would approximate to the quintessential Unsung Hero. He/She does indispensable chores in the background. He/She painstakingly removes the infelicities that would have marred the reader’s delight. He/She checks copy for grammar and taste. He/She ensures that headlines aptly and succinctly capture the essence of the story. He/She ensures that the typefaces/fonts used are aesthetic and pleasing to the eye. Above all, he/she ensures that articles conform with the newspaper’s House Style/Rules/Policy.

In many ways, the Staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) could be said, by dint of their exertions and sacrifices, to surpass the Unsung Hero in terms of hazard, self-abnegation, commitment and steadfastness. In spite of their sacrifices, which are legion, and which are scarcely put in the public domain, all they get is not even a grudging appreciation but a blanket vilification.

When the conduct of an election goes awry or south, they are maligned. They are shunned in decent society. This has prompted this writer, who was privileged to witness their work, to classify them as our own version of Vilified Heroes. Lest you harbor doubts about this categorization, kindly permit me to explain.

There is no Election Cycle since 1999 that has not been marred with violence. As a consequence of this violence, often perpetrated by desperate and unscrupulous politicians with their minions, INEC Staff – permanent and ad hoc – have been at the receiving end.

Either some are despatched, outright, to the great beyond, or others are maimed.
Even though the h is summoned to discharge responsibilities that are onerous and crucial to our democracy, its Staff, unlike other civil servants, are forbidden from unionizing. They, therefore, cannot come together and canvass for a dignified condition of work and service. It is cogent to argue that if INEC Staff were allowed to unionize, such an eventuality could undermine the Commission, and by extension, the country. This is because elections, by law, are informed and guided by inflexible and immovable timelines. Strikes and picketing of the Commission can impinge on these timelines, which are sacrosanct, resulting in constitutional crises. But the recent contrivance of a pliant Joint Consultative Committee(JCC) by the Commission does not suffice to address the concerns of the Staff.
It is very instructive that while INEC serves as a midwife and harbinger of our democracy, its products, who populate the Executive and Legislative Branches across the country, enjoy sumptuous salaries and lavish appurtenances of office while INEC Staff are paid niggardly salaries and allowances. Appalled by this state of affairs, and probably suffering from a twinge of conscience, a former Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Kabiru Gaya, once gave the the Commission a two-month ultimatum to submit a proposal for an upward review of its salaries and allowances.

To be fair, successive INEC Chairpersons have attempted to address this parlors situation but with little success. Professor Maurice Iwu, who in hindsight has proved to be the most compassionate and creative, devised the Hazard Allowance and a raft of welfare measures, to mitigate the situation and to buoy up morale. Some of his successors, unfortunately, could not follow through with them. Others tried to introduce different salary scales with the help of world-class consultants such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers(PwC). These were, however, objected to by the Salaries and Wages Commission. In fact, one of INEC’s Chairpersons demonstrated nobility of character by confessing his failure to improve the welfare of INEC Staff on his watch in his handing over note.

The norm in other Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) is for Directing Staff to retire with their official vehicles at discounted rates. It is also common practice in the private sector. But INEC, to the dismay of all, is an exception to this time-honored shibboleth.

In addition to departing, at retirement, with an official car at a discounted rate, a Directing Staff in other MDAs is guaranteed a reasonable package with which he/she is sent off. Such Staff fall back on this package before the arrival of their retirement benefits, namely: gratuity and pension. Nothing of the sort obtains at INEC.

After serving for thirty-five years meritoriously or assuming the age of sixty, at retirement, it is your colleagues, Directors or Departmental Staff, who send you off. Of course, such a send off is contingent on their disposition towards you and your likely people-skills and values which would have endeared you to your colleagues. The Commission, which you served, at risk to life and limb, looks the other way.

Compounding these challenges is that you are, at retirement, left to the vagaries and mercies of the Contributory Pension Scheme(CPS). The CPS, to date, is the most doggerel and the most mitely and miserly of Nigeria’s Pension Schemes. The recent travails of Police Pensioners, who are under CPS, which our media were awash with, speak for themselves.

Suffice it to say that it is the dysfunction that obtains in INEC’s dismal welfare and corporate governance that are projecting and manifesting themselves in the suffering of its retirees in the pension space. In spite of the approval by the federal government and payment of recent arrears for pensioners, INEC Pensioners are yet to be paid their arrears as at the time of my authoring this piece.

Worse is that of all the organizations on the First Line Charge of our Revenue, probably only INEC retirees are under the CPS which other retirees are fleeing from in droves on account of its paltriness.

Thus, when the new INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, exhorted his Staff, during the Commission’s recent induction/ retreat in Lagos, not to compromise the conduct of elections and to adhere strictly to the Constitution, the Electoral Act, the Commission’s Guidelines and Regulations and indeed the Commission’s core values such as integrity, honesty, transparency, impartiality etc, it resonated with patriotic Nigerians. Such patriots share in the Commissions’s lofty aspirations to earn the trust of Nigerians and to conduct credible and transparent elections which meet international best practices.

In fact, all those involved with the electoral process must be enamoured with his preachment. After all, the Commission by virtue of its statutory mandate, is the chief driver of our elections. The buck of elections stops on its table. It must, therefore, lead other stakeholders by being exemplary.
Besides, Professor Amupitan is assuming office at a time when INEC is embarking on an uphill journey of redemption arising from the challenges of the conduct of the 2023 General Elections. He will, therefore, do well to address the welfare of INEC Staff and the Commission’s faltering corporate governance as soon as possible. A Staff whose condition of work, service and pension are enhanced is most likely to give his best and to carry himself honestly. Staff who are highly motivated will certainly make the journey of redemption and the conduct of elections less arduous. Additionally, such worthy effort will put the Commission in lockstep and at par with other Election Management Bodies(EMBs) across the globe.

Arising from the sensitive nature of elections, EMB Staff are usually remunerated above the average in order to motivate and insulate them and to make them less susceptible to being compromised by desperate politicians. INEC cannot be an exception.
The Commission cannot demand that its Staff ply the high and narrow road of integrity and honesty when they are not paid wages commensurate with the work and risks they take. Professor Amupitan and his team should do the needful by improving Staff condition of work and service forthwith. They will then be justified to demand the highest standard of probity and professionalism from INEC Staff. A laborer should be worthy of his hire.