Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
Twelve political parties under the banner of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) have expressed readiness to take part in the December 7 local government elections in Ekiti State.
The parties, which called for credible elections to advance democracy, said they had conducted their primaries and submitted nominees to the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).
Speaking on behalf of the parties at a press conference in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, Mrs. Olubunmi Falana of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), lauded the parties for being ready to deepen democracy at the third tier of government.
The parties include KOWA, Alliance for Democracy (AD), Democratic People’s Party(DPP), Allied Party of Africa (APA) and All Grassroots Alliance (AGA) and six others.
Falana said the parties’ interest in the election confirmed its belief and confidence in the Justice Jide Aladejana-led SIEC to conduct free, fair and credible polls.
“We have all conducted free and fair primaries and believe that the SIEC will do what is right, we have no doubt about that.
“As political parties, we must all contribute our quotas to restore democracy to our councils, which is the closest to the grassroots and where the poorest Nigerians are resident,” she said.
A separate statement by CNPP Chairman in Ekiti, Deacon Olu Akomolafe, urged the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to also fulfill its promise and partake in the polls, being the main opposition party.
Akomolafe said the PDP and other parties have nothing to fear, saying there were assurances from SIEC that the elections would not be rigged in favour of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress(APC).
The CNPP condemned those labelling the SIEC Chairman, Justice Aladejana, as a dismissed judge, saying the allegation showed the PDP lacked knowledge about the credentials of the jurist.