IPAC demands unbundling of INEC, demands apology over party de-registration


 Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) National chairman, High Chief Peter Ameh, has urged the the federal government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work closely with all registered political parties in the country to proffer permanent solutions to “the current mess in the nation’s electoral system.”
The council in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja also advocated the unbundling of INEC to allow it have ample time to focus all his energy and attention on the conduct of elections.


“The federal government of Nigeria and the Independent National Electoral Commission must work closely with all the registered political parties in Nigeria under the leadership of the Inter Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC), who are the key stakeholders in the electoral process and without whom no electoral process can be said to be complete, to proffer permanent solutions to the current mess in the nation’s electoral system through an holistic review of our electoral laws.”

According to IPAC, INEC as institution “is over burdened with unnecessary responsibilities that should be assigned to another organ to perform.”
The IPAC leadership, which is recommending holistic review of the electoral laws, took exception on the remarks by INEC’s National Commissioner and chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in a keynote address in Makurdi.
Okoye had sought had proposed  de-registration of commercial and dormant political parties and legal framework that would ensure clear cut party primaries by political parties, amongst other things.  
In his reaction to Okoye’s keynote address on Tuesday, Ameh stated that Okoye’s speech “shows clearly, the level of ineptitude on the part of the  National Commissioner with regards to the mandate given to it by the Nigerian people to work for their collective interest and support the commission to conduct a free, fair, transparent and credible elections.” 
The IPAC chairman stated that political parties were already working to see “how to assist the commission to confront the challenges arising from the conduct of the 2019 General elections, urging Okoye to stop propagating his ill-conceived personal motive to truncate the development and growth  of most political parties, especially, those registered months and weeks before the commencement and publication of the commission’s timetable for the 2019 general elections.”  
Ameh said, “As a man who claims to be a  Constitutional lawyer, Mr. Festus Okoye ought to have realised that when a provision contradict the spirit and letters of our Constitution, it is rendered useless and our concentration should be on how to strengthen the current constitutional provisions to stiffen the requirements for party registration.
“The unbundling of the Commission to allow INEC have ample time to focus all his energy and attention to the conduct of elections in Nigeria because as an institution we sincerely believe that the Commission is over burdened with unnecessary responsibilities that should assigned to another organ to perform.

“The political parties were already working to see how we assist the Commission to confront the challenges and rather for him to pay attention to all the issues arising from the conduct of the 2019 General he chose to Express an ill conceived personal motive to truncate the development and growth  of most political parties especially those registered months and weeks before the commencement and publication of the Commission’s time table for the 2019 general elections which we must closely look and prefer a review that will prevent such in the Future.
“It is indeed of great concern to  registered political parties in Nigeria judging from the miriad of calls to the council who are members of IPAC and who were duly registered by the Commission after fulfilling the Constitutional requirements, to be referred to, by Festus  Okoye, as “commercial platforms for hire.
“This is most unexpected from  someone who we all perceived to who have championed the course for inclusion in Nigeria’s electoral space or has he now changed because he is now on the other side of  the table?
“This is not only insulting to the collective intelligence of all Democrats and members of legally registered political Parties in Nigeria but shows how uninformed the INEC Commissioner is with respect to Procedures and Processes. 
“Having assessed, certified and approved the registration of any political Party, it is morally and legally wrong for him to use the platform of the commission to state his personal opinion in anyway that Political Parties are mere platforms and have no concrete and visible presence in most States of the Federation” when such is a pre-condition for registration and a political Party can not be registered in Nigeria by the Commission without strict adherence to concrete and visible presence in most States of the Federation as required by the Nigerian Constitution. 
“For a national commissioner of INEC in the person of Festus Okoye who is believed to be a constitutional lawyer, to use such derogatory and defamatory words as seen in his press statement against registered political parties in Nigeria is most unfortunate and unexpected. This calls to question, his competence and capacity to continue as a National Commissioner of the INEC or act for the overall interest of the Nigerian People.
“For a lawyer in the calibre of Festus Okoye to use “fowl and gutter” language against  registered political parties who are the main and only reason why he is in office through which the commission conduct election for our Peoplefurther confirms his opprobrium, derision and discourtesy.”

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