Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Freedom and Justice Party, has called for the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the conclusion of the 2019 elections.
The National Chairman and Presidential Candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party, Dr Abraham Breakforth, while briefing journalists in Abuja, said the party understood that the postponement of earlier dates for elections was due to sabotage by some government institutions and agencies that were responsible for the movement of sensitive electoral materials from various airports across the country.
Breakforth also said having demonstrated a failure to conduct elections as scheduled as it did in 2011 and 2015 in some states, the problems bedeviling the conduct of elections was not just about the leadership of INEC, but about the enormity of the task of INEC, with other human factors and vagaries.
“How can all the task of registration of voters, production and distribution of PVCs, registration and regulation of political parties and monitoring of political parties primaries and their conventions, production of electoral materials, logistics before and during elections, security of electoral officers, materials and the electorate, conducting elections, checking malpractices and all forms of electoral offences, handling disputes and facing charges in courts of law, etc, be left to one single commission and to one man to head?
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“This is a problem all of us Nigerians must address today. Our democracy is still nascent and we have to continue learning every day until we get to perfection. Hence, we strongly demand national discussion on electoral reform and unbundling of INEC after this 2019 election,” Breakforth said.
The Justice and Freedom Party, however, urged the leadership of INEC to ensure that they remained unbiased by ensuring that the presidential and National Assembly elections are free, fair and credible.
It further said no Resident Electoral Commissioner or INEC staff at any level should compromise.
“We believe the transparency, capacity, and neutrality of INEC leadership to conduct a credible, free, fair election. Therefore, no security agents, especially the police, should interfere with the process as it will amount to a disservice to our nation. No military officer should get involved, but stay far from all polling units,” the Justice and Freedom Party further said.
Earlier, the party condemned what it termed “ruthless-shot-at sight order to the military by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that it was an invitation to anarchy.
The Justice and Freedom Party pleaded with President Buhari to immediately retrieve the order and apologise to Nigerians since there are laws on electoral offenders.
The party also appealed to all politicians, particularly the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress and the People’s Democratic Party to sheath their sword and see the national unity, peaceful coexistence and interest of good people of Nigeria as a priority far above their personal ambitions to govern Nigeria.