Olabode George, former Deputy National Chairman of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has advocated for the immediate scrapping of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while accusing the commission of being one of the major contributors to political crisis in the country.
George stated this Wednesday, at a press conference he addressed at his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, noting that the move was necessary as part of efforts to save the country because the commission was no longer representing the will of the citizens.
He further warned the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government against the proposed plan to establish Ruga Settlements for the Fulani herders, declaring that Nigeria was no longer at ease and on the brink of imploding unless the leadership had a rethink on the issue.
He said that recent elections conducted by the current set up of INEC does not reflect the will of Nigerians as most of them ends controversially in court.
According to him, ‘The country’s electoral process is very flawed, distorted, mangled, fractured, dishonest, primitive, savaged by deliberate human intrusions. Thus, where the wish and the will of the people prevail, the crucial essence of democracy is thus fulfilled, As a result of these overt flaws in the electoral process as represented by INEC.
“We are all basically disenfranchised as none can guarantee that the votes cast are sacrosanct. Everything is tampered with in the desperation to seize victory at any cost.
“The mandate of the people is flung into the dump site. And the danger crawls closer. How then do we restore order? How then do we restore sanity? We must be sincere. INEC must be dismantled in its entirety. It is presently compromised, partisan, wrapped in self-consuming incompetence,” George said.
He, however, said that to address the problems, the commission must be retooled, revamped and overhauled to align with the profiles of such institutions as witnessed across the world where the full complement of the electronic system had long replaced the stone-age system of manual collation, among others.
George further warned, the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government against the proposed plan of to establish Ruga Settlements, for the Fulani herders, declaring that Nigeria was no longer at ease and on the brink of imploding unless the leadership have a rethink on the issue.
George who is a leader of the PDP in Lagos State spoke at the press conference, also attended by former Minister of Transport, Ebenezer Babatope, lamenting the high level of insecurity in the country currently, stressing that establishing Ruga Settlements for Fulani herdsmen across the country was another disaster waiting to happen for which thoughtful appraisal must be given.
According to him, “The newly proposed Ruga Settlements for Fulani Herdsmen across the nation should be given more thoughtful appraisal, more tempering analysis lest we are thrown into destabilizing unknown.
“The Nigerian state is definitely not at ease, saying there were so many multifarious challenges confronting it with its democracy equally battered by what he termed constant insidious encroachments of herdsmen into people’s farms, provoking tensions and murderous violence,” George added.
The PDP chieftain said the current security crisis in the country pose a threat to the continue unity of the country and advocated for a stringent action by the president to solve the problem.
“The upsurge of bandits and kidnappers are the latest evils threatening the stability of our nation, we are now being pushed to the brink. All kinds of faceless actors are now turning our present situation into a free for-all hate-mongering, reckless populism and sheer profiteering.
“It should not be this way; our leaders should not be stampeded into panicky, unreflective actions, let the ruling party, the opposition, the non-partisan and everyone else step back from the brink and withdraw into a more reflective, more sobering position,” He added.
He, however, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to convene a National Town Hall meeting to hear the view the views of Nigerian about the Ruga Settlements, warning against any attempt to create army of occupation in a democratic setting.
