….calls on EFCC, ICPC, Police to beam searchlight on 20 governors
From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has raised the alarm over the alleged plan to rig the Saturday governorship and House of Assembly elections in 20 states by the governors and their collaborators.
The group alleged that billions of Naira were being disbursed by the agents of the affected states to ensure that their puppets were installed as governors and Assembly members to cover up their looting and misappropriation of funds in their states.
The chairman of Intersociety Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi in a statement called on the anti graft agencies like EFCC, ICPC and others to place the 20 States under their watch-list and dispassionately do that justly required of them by law.
He said that the security agencies must resist being compromised and pocketed by the panicking and desperate Governors, saying that “Tsunamic Obidients ballot effects panic 20 State Governors and force them into squandering N50B public funds in Vote-Buying so to install their puppets as next governors and state lawmakers” So As To Install Their Puppets As Next Govs And State Lawmakers”.
The Intersociety has observed after its investigation that no remorseful and corrigible lessons from Feb 25 polls have been learnt by Nigeria’s political actors particularly the Chairman of INEC and all the Commission’s serving National Commissioners, RECs and most of the 37 ad hoc State Collation Officers. Joined in this list are Governors and Governments of Anambra, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna, Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo, Kogi.
“From fresh findings and facts at our disposal, panics, fears and desperations have gripped the camps of the named 20 Governors and their Governments for possibility of them losing gubernatorial incumbencies and majority in the State Assemblies; with imaginary impeachment threats.
“Fears by the named 20 State Governors and their Governments also stem from their desperation to install puppets and loyalist lawmakers in their State Assemblies who will be doing their biddings and covering their dirty dealings whenever called upon.
“Intersociety has therefore investigated and found that there is likelihood of N50b State funds to be wastefully spent by the 20 Governors for purposes of cash or material vote-buying, voter suppression and coercive and intimidating measures in this Saturday, Mach 18, 2023.
“The polls are also projected to be violence threatening with high possibility of votes of the electorates not going to be counted. That is to say that not only that voter suppression and collation center result fixing that characterized the Feb 25 Presidential and National Assembly will be repeated in the March 18 Governorship and State Assembly Polls in the affected 20 States but the Polls are also most likely to witness violence and widespread cash or material vote-buying.
“Violence is likely to be witnessed in Enugu (dichotomy violence), Rivers (State sponsored violence), Delta, Ebonyi (Ebubeagu and thuggery violence), Abia, Benue (inter party and federally sponsored religious violence), Lagos (state state actor sponsored group violence), Kaduna (State sponsored inter ethno-religious violence) and Anambra (State sponsored political thuggery violence), etc” Umeagbalasi warned.