Former Director General of the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, Professor Tonnie Iredia has lambasted governors and other politicians defecting from the opposition political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC ahead of 2027 Presidential election, saying they are the same like herdsmen.
He said that herdsmen come and destroy your crops, when you ask questions, one would be silenced which is akin to the behaviour of the politicians where the people cannot ask questions when the governors dump their parties and if the people ask, they would be dealt with as Herders deal with farmers.
Iredia who described the June 12, 1993 Presidential election as a water shed in the nation’s history, said that the judiciary should not decide who wins in an election, but can nullify and call for fresh elections, just as he called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to be accountable as only credible elections can bring good leaders, adding that Nigeria needs strong institutions and not strong men and judges of old were more pragmatic.
According to him, the judiciary must be made to be accountable and what must be obtainable in Nigeria should be a situation where the choice of the people should be the decider and not the courts, just as he said that political parties must be separated from people in government.
Iredia said these at Yar'adua Centre, Abuja while speaking at the Annual Lecture Series of the National Association of Political Correspondents, NAPOC with the theme, "The Legacy of Option A-4 and June 12 election."
The former NTA Director- General said, "I see those defecting Governors as same like herdsmen who move about destroying people's crops and claim to have right of movement. Governors are free to move to wherever they want. But they must not move with the votes of the political parties.
"They should be stopped from moving because they're taking the votes of others. June 12 should remind us of true democracy."
Iredia who noted that the objective of his speech was to reecho the views of the international community on the June 13 1993 presidential election as the best in the political history of Nigeria and Option A-4, said that Option A-4 should be adopted in party congresses and primaries and in places where elections have not been known to be credible.
He said, "Option A-4 should be adopted in party congresses and in places where election have not been known to be credible. There are misconceptions about Option A-4. It's not a system of voting, but an arrangement which made it possible for election results and winners to be known on the spot.
"We wait to announce declaration of results on the later. That's why elections are rigged. Journalists should learn to report results of where it was collated."
Describing June 12 as "a watershed", he traced the history of chequered elections in the political history of Nigeria since 1959 before and after the June 12 election.
Iredia said, "What was special about June 12 was the calibre of the personnel of the electoral commission. There was unity of direction of late Prof Humphrey Nwosu. He told us that if elections are free and fair, we will all be given national honours by President Ibrahim Babangida.
"In our days, judiciary couldn't stop elections, except where there is widespread irregularity. INEC itself should be accountable. Only credible elections can bring good leaders. Nigeria needs strong institutions, not strong men.
"The Nigerian media has been unduly timid, they have been over censored. When we talk about media ownership and control, we should also speak about self censorship. Journalists should report as it is and should not hide under media owners to censor themselves."
In his remarks, former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku who noted that the June 12 election was not designed from the beginning to succeed, it was a game that was set to end in debacle, just as he said that June 12 is a lesson for Nigeria and the country's democracy must be defended.
Earlier in his address of welcome, NAPOC Coordinating Committee Chairman and Publisher, New Americans Magazine, Deba Uwadiae, said, "The theme of today’s lecture— “Legacy of Option A-4 and the June 12 Election”—invites us to reflect not only on a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s political history, but also on a blueprint for transparency and participatory democracy that still resonates three decades later.
"Option A-4 was more than a voting method. It was a democratic innovation that emphasized openness, accountability, and courage. On June 12, 1993, millions of Nigerians voted not just for a candidate, but for a future—one rooted in fairness, justice, and collective will. That election, widely considered the freest and fairest in our nation’s history, was a referendum on unity and hope. And though its outcome was tragically annulled, its legacy has endured—etched into our constitution, our political discourse, and our collective memory.
"For his leadership role in the Legacy of Option A-4 and the June 12, 1993, Election, the former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, NEC, late Professor Humphrey Nwosu deserves a national honor, including renaming the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC after him for his commitment and dedication to an integrous democratic process in Nigeria.
"As journalists and political correspondents, we are custodians of that memory. We are the bridge between history and present-day policy, between those who govern and those who are governed. Our work is not just to report facts, but to remind our society of its ideals and the price paid for freedom.
"Let us also not forget the sacrifices made—by the late Chief MKO Abiola, by activists, and by ordinary Nigerians who dared to believe in democracy. Their courage must compel us to keep asking difficult questions, to hold power to account, and to ensure that transparency in the electoral process is not a fleeting experiment, but a permanent expectation.
"Today, as Nigeria and the world face democratic backsliding, political polarization, and an information landscape crowded with misinformation, the role of political correspondents becomes even more vital. Let this lecture serve not only as a remembrance of the past but as a call to action, commitment to truth, to historical integrity, and to the democratic promise that June 12 symbolizes."
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