Bayelsa gov election: Rights group warns INEC

As part of the build-up to the forth-coming Bayelsa gubernatorial election, the Coalition of Nigerian Civil Rights Groups (CONRIGs), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to hold the election, unless the current tense political situation was put under control.At a world press briefing in Lagos, last week, the Assistant General Secretary of CONRIG, Mr Kehinde Adegbuyi, said the group was greatly worried by the cases of arrests, intimidation and assault on innocent people, stressing that it was a blatant rape of democratic norms in the state.Adegbuyi accused one of the dominant political parties in the state of sponsoring the arrest, detention and intimidation of members of other political parties, stating that such development was not in line with known democratic principles.He noted that these events called to question the future of democracy in Nigeria.'As Nigerians, we have the legitimate right to express our concern, as it is now clear that no credible election can be held in Bayelsa State under the current state of intimidation and insecurity,' he said.Picking holes in the recent primaries conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, the group said it was isolationist to deny the people the right to participate in the process that led to election, which he said must begin with a transparent and people driven party primaries.In the same vein, he said the quest for citizenship participation in the electoral process was the quest for collective survival and an enduring democratic nation, where peace and mutual trust would prevail.He lamented that lack of citizenship participation had brought calamities to the society in different forms and contexts, and such a situation had not brought peace to the beneficiaries and operators of the system, because it was the natural instinct of man to ask questions, probe circumstances and seek full participation in the relationship that affected his essence and being.The group called on the Federal Government to withdraw soldiers from the state, in order to allow credible, people driven primaries to take place in the state.
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