Nigerian Senators have condemned the recent local government elections conducted in many states for chairmen and councillors describing them as sham and rape of democracy.
It consequently vowed to do the needful about the charade for survival of democracy in Nigeria through required constitution amendments.
Condemnation of local government elections by the Senate followed a motion sponsored by the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) on local government election conducted in Benue State last Saturday which he described as a sham.
Seconding the motion, Senator Emmanuel Udende (APC, Benue North East) said although he is a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he can’t support what is wrong, adding: “This is not a party matter; there was no election in Benue state.”
Another APC senator from the state, Titus Zam (Benue, North West), strongly supported the motion by condemning the election in its entirety.
“There were no elections across the 23 local governments in the state last Saturday. What took place as election at the government house, was a charade and heinous
In his contribution, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin described the whole local government elections as a national calamity.
He said: “It is known to everyone that the best bedrock of every democracy is the right of people to elect their leaders in a free and fair election.
“But the sad commentary is that we don’t get anything like free and fair elections in our local governments.
“Across party lines, it is known to everyone, even a child knows this. This fact is known to everyone. The so-called elections are held at local government councils. People don’t go out to vote any longer. Results are announced, and you will not see anybody on the street on election day. Nobody goes out to the polling area because the results are already written, sometimes a week before the election.
