The house of representatives has resolved to investigate the
attacks on the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
At Wednesday’s plenary, the lawmakers asked security
agencies to “synergise” with Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the
federation, to “identify, investigate, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrators
behind the attacks”.
The resolution was passed following the adoption of a motion
passed by Olarewaju Ibrahim, a lawmaker representing Ido/Osi/Moba/Ilejemeje
constituency of Ekiti state.
In recent weeks, INEC offices in parts of the country,
including Enugu, Osun, Ogun, and Ebonyi, were set ablaze, with thousands of
permanent voter cards (PVCs), ballot boxes, and other election materials
destroyed.
Lamenting the attacks on Monday, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC
chairman, had said the commission would replace the damaged election materials,
adding that the attacks won’t stop the conduct of the 2023 polls.
Debating the motion on the floor of the house on Wednesday,
Ibrahim said the attacks are premeditated and are “targeted at crippling and
scuttling” INEC’s effort on conducting the general election.
“If these systematically orchestrated attacks on personnel
and facilities of INEC are not checked, the actions are capable of disrupting
the 2023 general election,” he said.
“The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999
(as amended) guarantees democratic governance as the only acceptable and
legitimate means of governance, and democracy is only sustained by free, fair
and credible elections.
“Hence, an attack against elections is an attack against democratic
governance and perpetrators of such attacks are enemies of the country.”
The legislator said despite the attacks being an “affront to
democracy and the constitution of Nigeria”, the police and other security
agencies “have been unable to arrest perpetrators of this heinous crime”.
The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to a
voice vote by Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house.
Subsequently, the house set up an ad hoc committee to
investigate the attacks and report findings within three weeks for further
legislative actions.
SLIGHT DRAMA OVER PVC PRODUCTION COST
While debating his motion, Ibrahim said as of 2019, it costs
INEC about N170,000 to produce one PVC, and that the amount may have increased.
He was, however, immediately countered by Aisha Dukku,
chairperson of the house committee on electoral matters, who raised a point of
order, saying the production cost of one PVC is less than N1,000.
After Dukku’s comment, Ibrahim withdrew his earlier
statement on the production cost of the PVC.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com