When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revealed last week the dates picked for the 2019 general elections, it was a pleasant surprise for many given the history and inconsistency that have characterised the conduct of elections in the country.

Thus for once, Nigerians felt that things are beginning to be done in a proper way, coming almost two years ahead of the elections.

The Presidential and National Assembly elections are billed for Saturday, 16th February 2019, while the Governorship/State Assembly/Federal Capital Territory Area Council Elections are scheduled for Saturday 2nd March 2019.

The citizens’ optimism was hinged on INEC’s argument that the measure would ensure certainty in the dates for elections as well as allow for proper planning by the commission, political parties, security agencies, candidates and all stakeholders.

“Our democracy is maturing and the commission believes that there should be certainty with regard to the timetable for elections,” it said in a statement posted on its website.

“For instance, in the United States, general elections always hold on the second Tuesday of November in the election year. In Ghana, it’s the 7th of December of the election year, while in other places like Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Costa Rica and Switzerland, the dates are also known in advance.”

But the fears and questions troubling keen observers are how prepared and equipped is the electoral umpire; do they have the institutional structures and logistics in place as in the countries cited?

A major drawback that may put a lie to their posturing over the firmness and sanctity of the election dates fixed for 2019 general elections is the inability to fill the yawning key vacancies in the commission.

To date, there are not more than three Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC’s) out of the 37 required for the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The ones still in service and who barely have four months left to the end of their tenure are the RECs attached to Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Gombe states. The term of the remaining ones has since elapsed having completed their mandatory five years in office.

It took almost 18 months to fill the vacant posts of national commissioners in the commission.

Inaugurating the six newly appointed commissioners in December last year, President Buhari said that the administration was anxious about the integrity of the electoral process.

“This administration is extremely concerned about the integrity of the electoral process. You are people of great integrity known throughout the country,” he stated.

But the question is can the integrity of an election be guaranteed without the requisite key officers to man the Commission’s offices in the states; put in place on time to allow proper planning and standardisation of the process?

There has been growing concern among politicians, political parties and stakeholders in the conduct of elections that failure to appoint the RECs to man the state offices across the federation could threaten the conduct and credibility of future elections.

Three governorship elections are billed to hold in Anambra (later this year), Ekiti (2018) and Osun (2018) states. INEC must be properly constituted with RECs manning the states to ensure that even the gains made culminating in the 2015 general elections are not lost before the 2019 polls.

“The term of office of 34 out of 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission has expired; some for more than one year now? Yet Mr. President has not deemed it fit to appoint successors to these vacant seats. This is not the first time this lethargic action is taking place under the present administration,” Jide Ojo, a public affairs analyst asserted.

He argued that the President has acted in breach of the 1999 Constitution as amended, by not making the appointments as at when due.

According to him, the refusal for whatever reasons to make the appointments was hindering the smooth operations of the electoral body.

Ojo said: “2019 general elections is barely two years away and preparations for the next election should actually start once the last one ends.

These new RECs will need ample time to settle down into their new positions. Election is a process and not an event and a very sensitive one at that. INEC cannot be said to be fully independent until it is well resourced both financially and administratively. Non-appointment of RECs is hampering the efficiency and effectiveness of the commission. The time to address that anomaly is now.”

Observers contend that INEC has an obligation not just to monitor electioneering campaigns, but also to sensitise the constituents; ensure that candidates conduct themselves within the ambit of law; regular revision of the electoral register, among others.

Consequently, it may be practically impossible for the commission to successfully perform its functions without the RECs in place.

INEC has consistently maintained that the statutory responsibility for hiring personnel for the vacant REC seats rests directly with the Federal Government and not the Commission.

The Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi acknowledged the vacancies and the need to fill them but expressed optimism that the government would act soon to rectify the situation.

“The elections are still sometime away, about two years from now and I know that there is no way that the government would not act before the elections hold,” he stated.

Similarly, the chairperson of the House of Representatives’ Committee on INEC, Hajia Aishatu Dukku who said that it was a thing of concern for all, was hopeful that something would soon be done by the presidency.

“This issue is squarely the business of the executive arm of the government. And I can confirm to you that the Commission’s request for the vacant slots to be filled, is before the presidency and receiving attention,” she told The Guardian.

It is worthy to note that this sluggishness in appointments to key positions is not peculiar to the electoral body. It is a malaise that cuts across most ministries, departments and agencies (MDA’s) of the federal government.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, in keeping with the norm associated with new regimes in the country, sacked the governing boards of the MDA’s soon after he assumed office in 2015.

Two years down the line, the vacancies created by the dismissals, retirements and deaths are begging to be filled with some generating controversies and political tension in certain cases like that occasioned by the death of Mr. James Ocholi, the minister of state for Labour and Productivity.

Ocholi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) died on March 3, last year in a car crash on his way to Kaduna and since then, the vacant seat has not been filled.

Stakeholders in Kogi State where he hailed from have been agitating for the slot on the grounds that they have been shortchange by the non-representation at the federal cabinet. Also, some threatened to go to court to compel the President to make the appointment.

A sour point is the perpetual deferment or rather the inability of the federal government to appoint chief medical directors (CMDs) for many tertiary health institutions across the country.

It is understood that 20 out of the 52 health establishments are without substantive heads, as they have no CMDs. The organisations enmeshed in these violations comprise psychiatric hospitals, Federal Medical Centres and Teaching Hospitals.

This ugly trend betrays indolence in decision-making or outright mischief to achieve some parochial objectives that is counter-productive to the unity, peace, growth and development of the country. It has elicited criticism from not a few.

Interestingly, some that are due to retire are held back; their tenures are being extended for reasons best known to the presidency alone. For instance, the tenure of the permanent secretary, ministry of Education, Dr. Jamila Shu’ara, has been extended for another one year, according to the minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu.

This will make it the second of such an extension for Shu’ara, whose tenure expired in February 2016, when she attained the age of 60. She was initially granted presidential latitude to remain in service up to February this year.

It was gathered that at expiration of the extension of service, which is having rippling effects in the Federal Civil Service, Shu’ara got the second extension.

It is coming on the heels of investigations by the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education over her continued stay in service, having reached the compulsory retirement age of 60.