PRESS CONFERENCE BY CONFERENCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES {CNPP}
HELD AT TOP RANK HOTEL ON 13TH MARCH 2009
CNPP REJECTS PRESIDENT YARADUA’S WHITE PAPER ON ELECTORAL REFORM
President Umaru Musa Yaradua wholeheartedly condemned the sham elections that brought him to power and undertake to set up an Electoral Reform Committee {ERC}, in his words during inauguration, ‘I will set up a panel to examine the entire Electoral Process, with a view to ensuring that we raise the quality and standard of our general elections and thereby deepen our democracy’.
Pursuant to this undertaking the ERC was set up and after over one year of crisscrossing the entire country, consulting stakeholders, collating reports and memoranda from Peoples Democratic Party {PDP} and other political parties and civil society organizations, extant records, on 12 th December 2008 submitted its report with far reaching recommendations and ready made Electoral Bills, to ensuring that the Electoral Commission is truly independent and that the quality and standard of our elections approximate global best practices.
For the avoidance of doubt, the ERC Report broad recommendations are:-
1) Insulation of the president from the appointment of Chairman, National, 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners, 774 Local Government Electoral Officers and 120,000 Polling Officers.
2) First-Line-Charge of Funding of the Electoral Commission
3) Post-Election disputes adjudicated on or before six months of swearing-in of the declared winner.
4) Introduction of Proportional Representation
To the utter consternation of CNPP, Civil Society Organisations, Labour, progressives and friends of Nigeria, President Yaradua rejected these ERC profound recommendations except First-Line-Charge, even after the White Paper Committee, headed by Hon Minister of Defence, Dr Shettima Mustapher paged with the noble intentions of the ERC Report. We were appalled that President Yaradua placed self interest above overwhelming national interest by paging with anti-democratic Committee headed by Attorney General and Minister of Justice Micheal Andookar.
CNPP totally dismiss the puerile and lame excuse government gave through Hon Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili that allowing the National Judicial Council {NJC} to collate through public advertisement and submit to the Council of State and then to Senate, violates the doctrine of separation of powers. Baron Montsieque and other philosophers never canvassed rigid independence of the three arms, but collaborative interdependence which the ERC Report recommended.
Is it not paradoxical and orchestra of deception, that the same government which accepted the segment of the ERC Report that violates the doctrine of True Federalism, i.e, by accepting the recommendation of the merger of National and State Electoral Commissions is taking refuge?
CNPP has severally argued that a political party, the Peoples Democratic Party {PDP}, which has ruing to a fail state, for nearly a decade and want through Do- or Die Political tactics to ruing Nigeria for 60 years; can not be sincere to actualize the Electoral Reform promise.
In conclusion, CNPP rejects totally the Yaradua White Paper Report and consequently is organizing a meeting of all Progressive Democrats, Civil Society Organization, Labour and Friends of Nigeria to articulate a position; as it will futile and suicidal to participate in future elections without a credible Electoral Constitution amendment.
