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NCFront, political stakeholders, others set for national summit

David Adenekan
David Adenekan
Third Force Movement gets South West leaders
NCFront

Leaders of conscience under the auspices of the National Consultative Front, NCFront, will convene a non-partisan, all political stakeholders emergency National Summit on Electoral Reforms on October 1 in Abuja.

The summit is said to be in commemoration of the 61st independence anniversary of Nigeria.

According the Head, Media and Public Affairs, Bureau of NCFront, Dr Tanko Yunusa, in a statement, the national intervention summit would be crowned by the launching of a formidable national electoral alliance and coalition of all like minded political stakeholders, leaders of thought, civil society and labour leaders across sectional divide to mobilise Nigerians and pressurize the Nigerian government to adopt electronic transmission of election results for the 2023 elections

The event, Yunusa said,  would be co-chaired by Prof Attahiru Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and Dr Olisa Agbakoba, former president of the Civil Liberty Organisation.

They will give opening remarks at the event on the theme: Restoring the Credibility of Nigerian Democracy and Legitimacy of the Nigerian State: The Imperative For the adoption of Electronic Transmission of Election Results in Nigeria.

The summit is also expected to receive keynotes and goodwill messages from invited statesmen, like-minded serving and former governors and key leaders of the Nigerian civil society and labour movement among others.

The statement reads in part: “Universally, election is a major plank of Democracy and if any electoral process is susceptible to rigging and malpractices then such democracy loses its credibility and sanctity. It is for this reason that we as leaders of conscience are quite worried that elections in Nigeria have been riddled with malpractices and rigging since the inception of the present civilian rule in Nigeria, thereby making majority of Nigerian citizens to lose faith in the Nigerian democracy as well as the Nigerian state leading to apathy and sabotage.

“The unfortunate flaws and pitfalls of the Nigeria electoral system have greatly eroded the legitimacy of the Nigerian state to the extent that seemingly elected  governments are presently contending with different forms of political instability, insecurity and sabotage orchestrated by the governed, having failed to provide good governance and dividends of democracy for the majority of the citizens, owing to crisis of stolen mandate and inept leadership foisted by rigged elections.

“However, our investigations and national consultations have revealed that one major factor and alibi for electoral malpractices and rigging in Nigeria is the manual/physical transfer of election results in Nigeria, which is archaic, problematic and prone to abuse and infractions.

“Consequently, stakeholders across party divides and sectional lines, including the elections management body, INEC have come to a consensus that the country is ripe and due for electronic transmission of election results to overcome at least 50% of the basis for electoral malpractices in Nigeria. But some powerful lawmakers in the National Assembly and their sponsors, who are the greatest beneficiaries of the current manipulable election results transfer mode, have decided to constitute a barrier to yearnings and aspirations of majority of Nigerians for the country to adopt electronic transmission of election results for the 2023 elections.

“Key participants and speakers invited to play key roles in the non-partisan national coalition include, Rt Hon Ghali Umar Naa’aba, former Speaker, House of Representatives; Prof Pat Utomi, former Presidential candidate; Dr Sule Hamma, former Secretary to the Government of Kano State; Dr Usman Bugaje, former House of Representives Member; Dr Olu Agunloye, National Chairman of SDP and former Minister, Amb Tokunbo Awolowo Dosunmu, Former Ambassador of Nigeria, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, frontline media mogul and Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, foremost constitutional and human rights lawyer…”

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