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Party chairmen blame security agents, politicians for alleged violent Kogi, Bayelsa guber polls

By Igho Akeregha and Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja
26 November 2019   |   3:25 am
The Forum of Chairmen of Nigeria Political Parties has blamed security agents and politicians for the violence that allegedly greeted the just concluded governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states.

The Forum of Chairmen of Nigeria Political Parties has blamed security agents and politicians for the violence that allegedly greeted the just concluded governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states. It also called for the immediate amendment of the Electoral Act, introducing electronic transmission of results from the polling units to a central database for votes to truly count.

The body spoke yesterday during a press briefing in Abuja after a review of the contests. Addressing journalists at the event which has over 60 party chairmen in attendance, including Perry Opara of the National Unity Party (NUP), Advanced Congress of Democrats’ Alhaji Adamu Takai; and Action Alliance’s (AA) Kenneth Udeze, the chairmen said they came to the conclusion that the elections were a “serious dent to the progress made so far in enshrining free and fair elections.”

Opara noted: “The failure of the elections was not caused by administrative lapses or inefficiencies of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but by the treasonable actions of security agencies which compromised the process and aided political thugs to disrupt the entire process and cart away electoral materials.”

Udeze, on his part, stated that despite the thousands of security personnel deployed to the two states, it could be averred that “thugs had a field day particularly in Kogi State, where their activities played a major role in determining who was eventually declared to have won the election.”

However, Governor Yahaya Bello has been charged to reflect on the past for him to plan better for the future.In his congratulatory message to the Kogi chief executive on his re-election, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sani Omolori, advised Bello to be more humane and God-fearing.

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