Don't Be Quick to Judge ISEC, Unilorin.

UCJ EDITORIAL

13/07/2017

The Independent Student Electoral Commission, is the official body charged with power to organise and facilitate the transition of government from one Student Union administration to another.

The body is supposed to be independent whilst discharging its duties. Failure to adhere to these basic tenets, will certainly mar the electoral process. By necessary implication, the polity becomes overheated with tension, and if left unchecked, the center will no longer hold, and things will surely fall apart.
The Independent Student Electoral Commission is not at such crossroads yet. However, there is no denial of the fact that, though the schedule of activities marking this year's electoral process is rich, logistics however, has been relatively poor. But then, the relevant question to be asked here is, whose fault is it?

First of, before the ISEC can function  effectively, it needs relevant, effective, and efficient tools to work with. And therefore, as a statutory requirement, the leadership of ISEC is expected to present its budget to the Senate Council for ratification. Once the budget is tendered before the House, parliamentarians are expected to do the needful.

What usually translates into doing the needful, is the traditional review being given to specific items on the budget. These items range from equipment, stationery, earnings, and general logistics. It is the duty of the legislature to legislate; it is also their duty to exercise oversight on the executive and its agencies. This was the kind of procedure the budget by ISEC was subjected to.

Secondly, those complaining of the poor quality of the acoustics used on the day of Manifesto, should know that the said sound system belongs to the Student Union —our dear Union. It may not have occurred to the lawmakers as at the time of ratifying the ISEC budget, that the Union's sound system needed some upgrade. It didn't cross their minds that perhaps, it was high time the Union changed it completely in search of a more sophisticated version. No, it didn't.

And therefore, what most students experienced at the venue of the manifesto, was a clear indication of the current plight of the Commission; they had to make do with the limited resources at their disposal. The Commission can only act within the scope of its approved budgetary allocation. No member of the Commission is a Santa Claus, you cut your coat according to your cloth.

The press night event of yesterday 12th July, was equally not spared. The SU sound system produced a series of discordant tunes, much to the dismay of the audience. The cacophony the sound system produced, was first class! In fact, the event got to a point where it became necessary to discontinue using the SU sound system. It had to take the timely intervention of the Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria (MSSN), University of Ilorin chapter, through one of its members, who lent the ISEC its sound system for the continuation of the event.

The SU sound system used for manifesto on the Permanent Site, was also used at the College of Health Sciences, and press night. This trend will surely continue to rear its ugly head at subsequent in-and-out door activities of the SU if nothing is done about the old school sound system the Union prides itself with.

Be that as it may, the ISEC is enjoined to also act above board, and play by laid down rules in order to engender a free, fair, and credible election. Monies approved for specific items should be used for that purpose, and that purpose only. For example, the Senate Council approved the sum of #2000 for the hiring of four members of the Cadet Corps, and #1,500 for ten litres of fuel, for the just concluded press night event. The fact is that, no member of the Cadet Corps was present at the event from start to finish. In addition, there was power supply throughout the duration of the event. Thus, it is hoped that such monies will be remitted to the appropriate quarters. Will there be proper accounting of the fund approved for the 2017 SU general elections? Only time can tell.

Attached herewith, is a copy of the ratified budget of the ISEC by the Senate Council, UNILORIN. This will help in understanding the nature of the Commission's plight. Don't be quick to judge them, they are simply working with available resources at their disposal. The Senate Council have the power to cause an improvement in this regard for subsequent outings. Better still, the Central Executive Council should use the corporate image of the Student Union to seek external sponsorship for the procurement of a befitting sound system for our Union. It will certainly go a long way to engender a seamless process at subsequent SU programs in future.

This is an editorial of the Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ), University of Ilorin Chapter, Ilorin, Kwara State.