Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has criticised the National Assembly of allegedly smuggling “questionable clauses” into the amended Electoral Act, saying the lawmakers’ action was capable of killing democracy in the country.
Aliyu accused the lawmakers of selfishness in introducing clauses aimed at making themselves members of the National Executive Committee of their political parties and automatic delegates to the parties’ conventions.
“The National Assembly, out of selfishness, wants to kill political parties. The electoral law passed by the National Assembly means that the decision of the parties will still be that of the National Assembly,” he said.
The governor spoke at the UK Bello Art Theatre, Minna, on Saturday, in a ceremony organised by a socio-political group, the Coalition For A Better Niger State, in which 17 political parties endorsed him for a second term in office in 2011.
Aliyu spoke against the backdrop of the new Electoral Act passed by the House of Representatives.
The House had, in passing its version of the amendment to the 2010 Electoral Act on Thursday, approved inclusion of some controversial clauses into the Act.
One of the contentious clauses is the controversial inclusion of members of the National Assembly in the NEC of their respective political parties.
Apart from the Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the state Houses of Assemblies that were made delegates to the presidential primary, the House had excluded members of the State Houses of Assembly, chairmen of local government areas, and chairmen of the parties in the local government areas.
But Aliyu said it was unimaginable for the lawmakers to inject such clauses into the Act, which he complained, disqualified statutory delegates.
While submitting that such decision was capable of killing democracy in Nigeria, he advised that efforts should be made to protect the 11 years of democratic experience in the country.
Using the Peoples Democratic Party as an example, Aliyu said the amended Act had automatically admitted the party’s 85 senators and its 225 members in the House of representatives into its national executive committee.
Juxtaposing the numerical strength of the lawmakers with other members of the party’s national executive committee, he said the lawmakers intended to control the parties so as to achieve some selfish gains.
By removing the chairmen of local government areas from the list of party’s delegates, Aliyu noted that the lawmakers had undermined the cardinal principle of grass root democracy.
He wondered why people, including chairmen of parties in local government areas responsible for wooing voters at the grass root should not be delegates of their respective parties’ conventions.
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