Caution INEC against partisanship ahead of 2019 polls
Some legal practitioners, under the umbrella of Lawyers of Conscience (LC), have called for the outright cancellation of the results announced for the local council elections which held penultimate weekend in Benue State.
In a statement at the weekend by its coordinator, Benedict Ezeagu, the group warned officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) against partisanship as the nation prepares for the 2019 general elections.
“The Lawyers of Conscience hereby throws its weight behind the call by the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) for the cancellation of the so-called results of the local council polls released by the Benue State Independence Electoral Commission (BSIEC) on June 4, 2017 where the All Progressives Congress (APC) won all the 23 local government chairmanship seats and councillorship positions in the 276 wards of the state with almost all of the party’s candidates returned unopposed,” the group stated.
Condemning the process and outcome, Ezeagu claimed that their investigation allegedly revealed irregularities with the entire exercise.
“The process of clearing/accreditation of candidates of the other political parties in the state for the said election and the voting process were criminally hijacked and manipulated by the agents of government for the pre-determined outcome,” he alleged.
Ezeagu went on: “We call on the relevant authorities at the federal and state levels to join in the condemnation of the exercise. Consequently, we demand for the outright cancellation of the said local council elections.”
He cautioned the electoral umpire against being used by desperate politicians to achieve their selfish ends.
Ezeagu admonished: “A truly independent electoral body should not to take side with a particular political party and do anything that will provoke the wrath of the electorate to take laws into their hands, thereby disrupting our fledgling democracy.”
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