CNPP Rejects Benue Council Election Process, Demand It's Annulment

Balarabe Musa

…. Backs labour, students, vows to resist
fuel tax

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties
(CNPP), the umbrella organisation of all
registered political parties and associations
in Nigeria, has rejected the process and
whatever is the outcome of the Saturday’s
local government election in the Benue
State, describing it an “unprecedented rape
of democracy and rubbishing of every tenet
of free, fair and credible election at the
local government level.”
The CNPP in a statement by its Secretary
General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, while
demanding for the cancellation of the
election, observed that “the process was
tailored by the Benue State Independent
Electoral Commission (BSIEC) and the
ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and
Governor Samuel Ortom to produce APC
Chairmen in the state irrespective of the
people’s choices.
“The voters apathy marred the election in
all 23 local government areas of Benue State
on Saturday, which resulted in low turnout
of voters across the state clearly indicate
that the people rejected the process and a
remarkable statement that the election
outcome is a fraud.
“We, therefore, call on the National
Assembly, the international community and
all well-meaning Nigerians to take note of
the unprecedented rape of democracy and
rubbishing of every tenet of free, fair and
credible election at the local government
level through electoral process
manipulation by the Governor Samuel
Ortom led administration.
“For us, no election took place in Benue on
Saturday and we demand immediate
cancellation of the election,” the CNPP
stated.
In a related development, the CNPP has
thrown its weight behind Nigeria’s
organised labour over planned increment of
prices of petroleum products, accusing the
National Assembly of taking more anti-
people decisions than resolutions that could
better the lives of the already impoverished
masses of Nigeria.
“We assure the Senate and the Federal
Government that their proposed N5 be per
litre of fuel tax will be resisted,” the CNPP
vowed in a statement by its Secretary
General, Chief Ezugwu on Sunday.
The Alhaji Balarabe Musa led umbrella
organisation also warned the Presidency of
the imminent consequences of adding to the
pains of the ordinary people of Nigeria by
raising the pump price of fuel under any
guise.
“Our findings have shown that the bill titled
‘National Roads Fund (Establishment, etc)
Bill 2017’, proposing that N5 to be paid per
litre of fuel imported into the country is a
ploy by the Federal Government to impose
more hardship on Nigerians at a time the
burden of recession in the country is
becoming unbearable.
“We thought that the Federal Government
should be thinking of reducing the already
biting hardship in the country after failing
to fulfil the promised increment in
minimum wage and non-payment of arrears
of workers’ salaries and allowances in the
past two years.
“It seems that the current government at
the federal level and their National
Assembly collaborators enjoy inflicting
more and more pains on Nigerian masses.
“We wonder why the Senate Committee on
Works in its final report on the bill would
make such proposal. Are they saying that
the only way this government can raise
funds is by increasing pump price of
petroleum prices and punishing the
masses?” The CNPP queried.
The Nigerian organised labour, students and
others have vowed to resist any attempt by
government to indirectly or otherwise
introduce a hike in the pump price of fuel,
given the economic hardship in the
country.