Home News Group to Judiciary: Prevent Anarchy in Ondo, Save Democracy

Group to Judiciary: Prevent Anarchy in Ondo, Save Democracy

by Our Reporter

A pro-democracy group, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and
Constitution (CDNDC), has appealed to the judiciary to truthfully and
fairly deploy  the constitution in defence of democracy at this critical
moment in Ondo state and prevent anarchy that could truncate democracy in
Nigeria.

“We fear that the rising tension in Ondo State, especially against the
backdrop of the 1983 experience, is capable of truncating this democracy,
except the judiciary comes to the rescue,” CDNDC warned in a statement by
its co-convener, Mr Ariyo-Dare Atoye.

The group expressed sadness that a major political incident that led to
the fall of the second republic in 1983 is gradually building up in the
polity, warning that only the emplacement of electoral Justice could save
the current democratic journey.

According to the group: “The failure of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to defend democracy and do what is right and just to
political parties, is creating serious tension in the land and threatening
our democracy.

“With every sense of responsibility, we state that the latest electoral
insurrection by INEC in illegally and wickedly substituting a validly
nominated candidate for a meddlesome interloper and a busybody who
arm-twisted the Judiciary to obtain a fraudulent order must never be
allowed to stand by the Judiciary.

“The onus is now on the Judiciary to stand up for justice as the last hope
of the people to defend this democracy, because what INEC has done, has
painfully created a loophole for desperate and wicked politicians to
explore to the detriment of our democracy and elections.

“If we allow this electoral travesty to stand, it will consume all of us
and our democracy will fall. The bigger picture of what is happening in
Ondo State will undermine civil rule and we don’t want this to happen.

“We are sincerely urging the Judiciary to redeem the situation in Ondo
State and ensure that justice is done to the people on the rightful
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“INEC has acted wickedly by replacing a validly nominated candidate of the
PDP, whose primary election it observed and approved, with a busybody who
plotted a kangaroo election in Ibadan under darkness and who is still a
member of the Accord Party (AP).”

CDNDC however urged President Muhammadu Buhari to caution INEC against
sabotaging the electoral process, noting that the security implications of
what the commission is doing is “a big burden on the nation and a major
challenge to the President.

“Mr. President also has a sacred duty to prevent INEC from sabotaging our
hard earned and hard sustained democracy. We must never allow democracy to
die,” the coalition said.

You may also like