The National Association of Seadogs, Pyrates Confraternity, (NAS/PC) has said that President Bola Tinubu and the political class are endangering democracy.
The group argued that the conduct of the off-season elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states has called into question the neutrality of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking via a press statement by the NAS Capoon, Abiola Owoaje, the Confraternity pointed out a series of electoral malfeasance reported by international and local observers
Owoaje lamented that the conduct of some electoral and security officers during the election leaves much to be desired.
He expressed disappointment that the scandalous practice prominent under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari has been sustained by the Tinubu administration.
According to him, “The credibility of the electoral process is eroded when those expected to act as umpires descend into the arena and compromise the electoral process as witnessed in the just concluded off-season governorship elections.
“The general assumption and hope that INEC and security agencies would use the off-season governorship elections to redeem their battered image in the aftermath of the badly conducted 2023 general elections has been dashed. Rather, it has further accentuated justifiable claims that elections in Nigeria are increasingly becoming commercialised. INEC’s obvious bias in elections was recently highlighted by the Court of Appeal in Abuja which decried its partisanship thereby neglecting its role as an unbiased umpire in an election,’’
Owoaje drew attention to the recent appointment of 10 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) which attracted criticisms over allegations of some of them being linked to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
He subsequently challenged President Tinubu to demonstrate his commitment to genuine democracy by withdrawing the appointments of partisan RECs.
Credit: Naija News
Leave a Reply