POLITICS
South-East CSOs Calls for Cancellation of 2023 Presidential Election
From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu
A coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), in the South-East under the aegis of South East Network for Democracy and Accountability (SENDA), has frowned at the shoddy conduct of the last Presidential election held on Saturday, February 25, 2023 and therefore called for outright cancellation of the outcome for new polls to take place.
The coalition which made the call at a World Press Conference held at the Roots Restaurant, Independence Layout, Enugu, maintained that the election fell short of international standards and also fell short of the new amended electoral law of 2022, and as such, passed a vote of no confidence on INEC.
They pointed out that though huge sums of money was spent in conducting the election, it would be better that a better polls be conducted to meet the people’s desire and aspiration.
Addressing newsmen on behalf of SENDA, leader of the Coalition, Comrade Emmanuel Acha said that the outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections which took place on February 25, 2023, a day that commemorate exactly one year after the signing of the Electoral Act, 2022 as amended by President Muhammadu Buhari has left many with questions begging for answers. “This is why we are here today to grant this press conference,” he said.
Acha said that why they are calling for outright cancellation and rescheduling of the Presidential Election is because INEC was unable to fulfil their promises to Nigerians and failed to adhere to the dictates of the Electoral Act, 2022 as amended.
“The Commission has been specifically blamed by stakeholders on issues of logistics; late arrival of poll officials at their voting centres across the country, particularly in the Southern part of Nigeria; failure to transmit polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (iRev); and voter intimidation and suppression among others.
“We hereby agree with various national and international stakeholders that the just concluded elections lacked transparency and failed to achieve minimum standards of electoral credibility,” he said.
He said that Nigerian democracy can no longer be described as nascent; hence no excuse can be justifiably adduced for the very obvious lapses witnessed so far in our elections since 1999 till date.
He expressed displeasure that inspite the series of assurances and reassurances by INEC as it relates to the deployment and use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as well as the INEC Result Viewing Portal in the general elections, INEC could not conduct a credible poll.
The group, therefore while calling for the cancellation and rescheduling of the Presidential poll, however urged Nigerians not to be deterred by what happened during the presidential and national assembly elections to come out en masse to exercise their franchise for the forthcoming governorship and house of assembly elections.
They equally called on INEC to improve on their performance while urging the security agencies to be up and doing to ensure adequate security for the remaining polls, pointing out that, “The IReV is one of the innovations introduced by the Commission to ensure the integrity and credibility of election results in Nigeria. It is therefore inconceivable that the Commission will turn-around and undermine its own innovations,” they lamented.
The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of the commission and guard against the culture of manipulating election results.
The Abia Chairman of the association, Mr Collins Eze, gave the advice at the group’s general meeting and end-of-year party in Umuahia.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the ceremony, Eze said that the staff members were adequately aware of their enormous responsibility and should ensure free, fair and credible elections.
He said: “We have also told our colleagues that anywhere they find themselves they should make sure that they do the needful by ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have always told them not to allow anybody to induce them with money to manipulate election results.
“I’m happy that they have been building the capacity of our colleagues on election processes.
“So, in the coming years, we won’t have any problem in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections.”
He said that the end-of-year party was special as it afforded them the opportunity “to wine and dine together as well as thank God for sustaining them in 2024”.
Eze said that his leadership had introduced various means of assisting members in dire financial needs by providing platforms to solicit suppory for them.
He expressed gratitude to members for their support and cooperation, describing them as the “secret behind the success of this administration”.
He said that 34 of at least 350 staff members of the commission in the state retired from service in 2024.
According to him, the development has placed a huge financial burden on the association, in terms of their welfare and entitlement as members.
Report says that each member received a carton of tomato paste as Christmas gift from the association. (NAN)
A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be thankful to God that its 16-year administration was not probed by the successive APC-led governments.Okechukwu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to a statement by PDP congratulating Ghanaians for the conduct of free, fair and transparent general elections.
Report says that PDP had, in a statement, said that the verdict of the people of Ghana in the presidential election was a signal to the APC that its days were numbered. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had said in the statement that the power of the people in Nigeria, just like in Ghana, would ‘surely prevail and end the APC’s oppressive rule’.This, he said, would “return Nigeria to the path of good governance, security, political stability and economic prosperity on the platform of the PDP in 2027.”However, in his reactions to Ologunagba’s statement, Okechukwu said that the PDP clan should thank God that former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, out of sheer statesmanship, had refused to probe ‘the 16 locus years of PDP administrations’.Okechukwu, a former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), described the 16 years of PDP administrations as ones full of squandering and lack of plan.He said that Nigeria had yet to recover from the humongous culture of impunity and trust deficit planted by PDP on the Nigerian soil.Okechukwu said corruption was among the culture of impunity, saying it governed the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, a key element in the country’s industrialisation drive.“Another is the blatant rigging of the 2007 general elections which the foremost beneficiary, President Umaru Yar’Adua, out of good conscience and noble magnanimity, publicly acknowledged the malfeasance which characterised his victory,” he said.Okechukwu also mentioned what he called conscienceless sale of the legislative and ministerial quarters, the annual rentage of which, he said, was bleeding the country’s treasury.“Another one is the neglect of $23 billion Greenfield Refinery, which could have saved over $70 billion expended on importation of refined petroleum products and which simulated the economic hardship of today,” he said.On why, for nine years, the APC administration could not fix those challenges, he recalled the efforts made by the Buhari administration to reopen talks on the Greenfield Refinery which, according to him, the Chinese regrettably rebuffed.The former VON director-general said that Nigerians were not in a hurry to forget the deliberate breach of the rotational convention of president from the north to the south.He said that the country could not also forget the utter disregard for Section 7 of the PDP’s constitution which expressly mandated zoning.Okechukwu advised the PDP not to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by assuming that citizens would easily forget how they were put in the harms way.He said that PDP should thank God that Buhari and Tinubu did not want to probe them, adding “that’s why Nigerians cannot decipher the difference between the two political parties.” (NAN)
Sen. Ned Nwoko (PDP-Delta) says that Local Government Administration is central to democracy in Nigeria as it ensures grassroots governance and service delivery at the local level.This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Michael Nwoko, the Chief of Staff to the lawmaker in Abuja on Monday.Nwoko said this on the occasion of the presentation of an award “Icon of Hope” to him by the Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGOVC).
He was represented by his Chief of Staff. He said that the importance of local government administration in the country could not be overemphasised, as it was the bedrock of democracy.According to him, local governments in Nigeria play key roles in the country’s democracy by promoting participatory democracy, providing services, and representing citizens.“Local Governments help determine local needs and how to meet them. They also act as a link between the centre, state, and local people.“They are created to decentralise power and bring the government closer to the people. They perform both mandatory and concurrent functions.“It is in view of this that I took it upon myself to enhance the viability of local governments through the Paris and London club loan refunds,”he said.Dr Folashade Olabanji-Oba, ALGOVC National Chairman, while presenting the award at its 7th Annual National Conference, said the award was in recognition of the lawmaker’s significant contributions to strengthening local government administration.She highlighted Nwoko’s critical role in ensuring the Paris and London Club loan refunds, a financial breakthrough she said enhanced the capacity of local governments nationwide.(NAN)
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