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The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) has accredited the National
Assembly to monitor the forthcoming general elections.

The National
Assembly is listed as number 162 in a list of 313 domestic observer
groups approved by the electoral commission to monitor the polls
published on INEC’s website.

Most members of
the National Assembly are contestants in the first in the series of
elections scheduled for this Saturday. It is not clear how they will
double as monitors especially as INEC guidelines forbid candidates from
moving around polling units.

An INEC staff, who
did not want his name mentioned because he has no authority to speak
for the commission, said incumbent lawmakers might hide under NASS
accredition units to roam polling stations, and possibly commit
electoral fraud.

But David Asemo of
INEC’s Election Monitoring and Observation Unit, in a telephone
interview, said it was members of the National Assembly’s Research and
Documentation Department that were approved as observers, and not the
legislators vying for election.

“It is not the
National Assembly legislators. It is the management headed by the Clerk
of the National Assembly who is the administrative head of the National
Assembly that applied, and they met all the criteria. You can go and
verify,” Mr. Asemo said.

Mr. Asemo however
refused disclosing which criteria were used in accrediting the National
Assembly members, stating “those are administrative details, which I
can’t tell you.”

When contacted,
INEC’s spokesperson, Kayode Idowu, requested some time to confirm the
commission had indeed accredited the National Assembly as an observer.
In a subsequent conversation, he also said only National Assembly staff
were accredited.

“It is the staff
and not the legislators. Different groups applied, just like we have
journalist groups who also applied to be observers. It does not mean
the legislators themselves are the observers,” Mr Idowu said.

He however could
not state which criteria were used in selecting the National Assembly
staff, as he said he was unable to locate the document having the
details.

But a human rights
activist, Bamidele Aturu, says it is “an affront on democratic
principles” for the National Assembly to be given observation rights
considering many of the legislative members have vested interest in the
elections.

“It is funny and
strange because these members are politicians either contesting
directly or supporting one candidate or the other in the elections. It
makes a mockery of election monitoring and observation,” Mr. Aturu said.

He added that such
an “undue privilege” might allow the National Assembly staff to move
around freely on election days to the advantage of select politicians,
and the detriment of other Nigerians.

“This same staff of the National Assembly have close contact with
these politicians. I think it is undue privilege because other
Nigerians can’t move around on election day. How do we know they won’t
act in favour of them? I think it is strange this is happening. It
should be left with civil society organisations to handle and not the
National Assembly which is a government institution,” Mr. Aturu said.