As the advocacy on electronic voting spreads, the national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr Ralphs Okey, on Tuesday, said elections in Nigeria have become a criminal enterprise.
Nwosu, who spoke when he received members of the verification team of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the ADC headquarters in Abuja, blamed the ugly situation on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other agencies assigned critical roles during an election.
According to the ADC chair, the country is currently in danger because of alleged impunity and complicity by the INEC and the agencies to subvert the wishes of the electorate.
“Dear Madam Director, Mrs Mary Agbamuche- Abu, I want you to relay to the chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and his team of commissioners that by their continued connivance, they have inadvertently set the country on a free fall and caused the world democracies great pains, and serious damage to the present and future world,” Nwosu said. .
He said in spite of sufficient funding of the INEC, the commission failed woefully to conduct credible elections based on standard practice and standard.
“INEC is one of the well-funded Agencies in Nigeria. The government is usually well supported by the National Assembly to give priority to INEC’s financial and other needs.
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“In addition, foreign governments and NGOs support the body with election management protocols, capacity building and human development. All these are to ensure the best outcome for INEC’s works.
“But rather than good outcome, I want the men and women running INEC to search their conscience. Unfortunately, the entire Nigeria democratic ecosystem looks more like a criminal enterprise,” Nwosu alleged.
ADC was among some political parties that adopted the presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election in the country.
Nwose said the gross abuse of the electoral process had grave implications for the future of the country, which he said was already haemorrhaging.
His words: “I wish to put it clearly, our country Nigeria is in great danger. The systems are corrupted and the country is haemorrhaging.
“The quality of leadership is, to say the least poor; institutions have become compromised and undermined. State agencies are in ruins and infrastructures are in the incomplete decadent state. I hate to and will not classify security.
“Unemployment is at the highest, and the country has become the poverty capital of the world under this imposed leadership of APC at the centre and some other parties in the states. The condition of our country is troubling.
“If the systems and leadership in place have reduced our country and sunk its current population of 200 million so low, I doubt if we shall have a country in 20 years when the population of the country becomes 400million. It will cause global rupture.”
The ADC boss said his party would have made more impact during the last election if the INEC had allowed due diligence at the polls.
He claimed that “ADC should have produced minimum of three governors, 12 Senators and 72 House of Representatives members and 178 members of Houses of Assembly of various states. The system aided the parties in power, cash-and-carry politicians and warlords, and the incumbent governments to rub our candidates and our model party.
“But we remain undaunted. Our House of Representatives members and their states Assembly counterparts remain the authentic voice of Nigerians in representing their constituencies and our great party. They will continue to project an alternative voice without fear. Nigerians know that they are a part of the few that truly are deserving of their mandates.”
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