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| H.E. Prince Frank Ukonga - National Chairman of DA-Democratic Alternative Party in a warm Handshake with Prof. Mahmud Yakubu- National Chairman of INEC |
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| From rt: H.E. Prince Frank Ukonga -National Chairman of DA-Democratic Alternative Party with High Chief Peter Ameh- National Chairman of IPAC and Mr. Williams- Deputy National Chairman of DPC |
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| H.E. Prince Frank Ukonga- National Chairman of DA-Democratic Alternative Party with Hon. Samson Itodo- CEO YIAGA Africa- Sponsor of the NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN BILL |
Breaking News: 2019 Polls’ Summit on Ending Vote Buying
& Selling: Prof Mahmud Yakubu-INEC Chairman, Frank Ukonga-DA Nat Chair,
Chief Peter Ameh-IPAC Chair, etc storms YIAGA Summit on “Ending the scourge of
Vote Buying & Selling in Nigerian Elections”-Focus on Ekiti, Osun &
2019 guber Polls.
Today was a historic day in the annals of Nigerian
Democratic dispensation as major stakeholders engage on round table discussion
at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja on the auspices of YIAGA Africa to discuss on the
Theme of “Ending the Scourge of Vote Buying and Selling in Nigeria Elections”.
The Executive Director of YIAGA, Hon Samson Itodo the successful
sponsor of the “Not Too Young to Run Bill” anchored the program as a panelist.
The INEC National Chairman Hon. Prof. Mahmud Yakubu was the
Special Guest of Honour and the Key Note speaker. And he was very candid in his
speech that if there is a buyer them there is a seller and all are culpable. He
asked a tactical question: Who are the Vote Buyers? And all the political
Parties Chairmen and representatives were taken by surprise as to if and how
the scourge was to be stopped has been revealed. It is dialectical that the political
parties and their candidates have to stop inducing voters with money. He
stressed the importance of Voter Education. Another issue on prosecuting electoral
offenses was raised and he said that INEC is doing all to cooperate with the
other security agencies to prosecute offenders. Finally he assured all the
participants that the issue of Vote Buying and selling would soon be a thing of
the past as INEC is putting serious measures in place to stem the scourge.
In his remarks the National Chairman of IPAC [Inter Party
Advisory Council] High Chief Peter Ameh noted that the scourge is real and
could truncate the democratic exercise. He made case for other political parties
that have no access to neither federal nor state funds as the parties have not
produced the president or governors of states and thereby are among the victims
of these obnoxious practice. He pledged the readiness of IPAC to support and
work hand in gloves with INEC and other relevant agencies to check this scourge
before it conflagrate to burn out the resilient democratic dispensation of the
Nigerian Nation state.
Addressing the Media in Sheraton Hotel, the venue of the
historic event, H.E. Prince Frank Ukonga the National Chairman of Democratic
Alternative offered the following Observations: that all quick fix solutions to
stem the scourge would only be a temporary solution as the root cause of the
problem is the winner takes it all syndrome of the presidential system of
government that is being practiced by Nigeria. So the stakes are so high that
all Parties want to win at whatever cost and by whatever means. He advocated
the inclusion of Proportional Representation [PR] into the constitution of the
Republic to ameliorate the anxieties; where if a political party scores a
certain percentage of votes in an election the party would produce a legislator
to represent the people in the various Houses. If this is implemented the
parties and candidates would only be competing to win say 25% of total vote
cast in an election to be in government and not the win or lose system. That is the practice in
advance democracies of Germany, Russia, France, and Canada and in many other countries.
This would stem the practice of vote buying and selling and eliminate other
electoral offenses, expand the political space, create jobs, guarantee quality
legislations and even representation.
The conveners of the historic event Mr. Samson Itodo
presented a well researched Journal tagged “Duly Elected or Duly Purchased?” -
Report on Vote Buying and Selling in the 2018 Ekiti governorship Election.
BY National Peoples News. Desk Editor: Bashiru Majiyagbe
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