The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives, Friday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately take steps to halt the country’s gradual decent into anarchy.
The PDP caucus said the growing sense of insecurity and injustice in the country will definitely give birth to lawlessness that Nigeria can’t afford to joke with, especially as the nation’s unemployment figures keep soaring and the economic fortunes of the country keep dwindling.
Addressing a news conference on Thursday, leader of the caucus, Hon. Kingsley Chinda asked the President to forward an executive bill to the National Assembly, on electoral reforms, which must include the compulsory use of card readers in all polling units.
The caucus was reacting to the outcome of the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states reportedly marred by incidences of violence and ballot box snatching.
Hn. Chinda said that “given the networked nature of the present global system, there is no doubt that the growing insecurity will have a spillover effect outside Nigeria.
“The comity of nations need to be concerned about Nigeria, for it also has the moral obligation and the responsibility to protect Nigerians from the flagrant abuses of human rights, including wanton killings of innocent people, often perpetrated by secretary agents.
“We are therefore calling on all nations that wish Nigeria well to join the USA and immediately consider, the imposition of Visa ban and travel restrictions on all individuals within the Independent Electoral Commission, Security Agencies, and politicians of all political parties who are involved in any form of electoral offences and violence. This will prove to Nigerians that the world is standing with them, and deter future occurrences.
“We wish to condole the people who lost their family members in the last week’s show of shame and we call on Nigerian’s to stand fast on democracy and keep sacrificing for us to have a Nigeria that is free and prosperous.”
He called for the cancellation of the two elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
He said; “we are therefore joining our voices to the clarion call across the land and even internationally, for the cancellation, in its entirety of the Kogi State elections conducted on November 16, 2019.
“The novel and indeed, criminal conduct of “community voting” in Bayelsa State, a situation where political entrepreneurs with the active connivance of security agencies force people to vote for preferred candidates offends the fundamental human rights of people to choice as well as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which all security agents, President Muhammadu Buhari and INEC officials unclose swore to protect.
“This by any stretch of imagination cannot be regarded, as election. There is therefore no reason to allow the Bayelsa elections to stand. These elections make Nigeria a laughing stock”
According to Chinda, Nigerians who thought that President Buhari would make casual and perfunctory gesture for electoral reforms have been thoroughly disgraced and disappointed by the unprecedented violation of the right and dignity of the peoples of Kogi and Bayelsa States.
He said further that the wanton destruction of properties of the people, as well as the denial of the right of the people to choose for themselves, reflects the degeneration in Kogi and Bayelsa states has completely eroded the gains of the reformed electoral system inherited by President Buhari has been completely eroded since he emerged as President.
He said further that reports by the field agents of the PDP in both Kogi and Bayelsa, which were largely validated by the diplomatic and temperate views of both local and International observers, show a systematic abuse of the electoral process
He said the card readers were largely ignored in area that All Progressives Congress (APC) thought it had comparative advantage while subjecting areas believed to be the strongholds of the PDP to the use of smart readers, which usually malfunctioned or were deliberately calibrated to frustrate voters not to vote.
