Ahead of the election of the Inter-Party Advisory Council on Monday, the Transition Monitoring Group has called for a free, fair, transparent election.
The group said the IPAC must not become an appendage for political parties or institutions.
The Chairman of TMG, Auwal Rafsanjani, made the call in a statement obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.
Rafsanjani, while stressing the importance of the election, described IPAC as “a critical platform for the promotion and sustenance of free, fair, credible, transparent, acceptable, inclusive and peaceful electoral environment in Nigeria”, stated that this aim of the Conference had remained a mirage.
“As the Inter-Party Advisory Council prepares for its election on Monday, December 18, 2023, the Transition Monitoring Group notes the importance of the election to the democratic process and development in Nigeria.
“As the umbrella body of all the registered political parties in Nigeria, IPAC is a critical platform for the promotion and sustenance of a free, fair, credible, transparent, acceptable, inclusive and peaceful electoral environment in Nigeria. Yet, Nigerians are not unaware that this critical aim of the conference of political parties has remained a mirage.
“Be that as it may, this important council must not be allowed to become another appendage of some political merchants and corrupt ruling class just as other independent bodies including election management bodies and the judiciary have appeared to become in Nigeria.”
The TMG chairman further alleged attempts by the “political elite from the ruling party” to plant loyalists within the Council, adding that such attempts were damaging to the democracy of Nigeria.
He further stated that the infiltration of loyalists in the Judiciary, the National Assembly and their appointments as Resident Electoral Commissioners, had resulted in residents’ disbelief in the credibility of elections.
“This unending desire to plant loyalists and people with a lack of integrity in every institution of democratic development in Nigeria is damaging to the quality of democracy in the country. Where the regime has succeeded in planting and allegedly buying over loyalists in the judiciary, it has also succeeded in eroding citizens’ trust in the judiciary.
“In the same vein, where the regime has succeeded in planting loyalists as Resident Electoral Commissioners against citizens’ petitions, it continues to deplete citizens’ trust in the electoral process. Every single selfish action has its wide-reaching consequences on democracy in Nigeria.
“The attempt to hijack the IPAC election only points to a regime that is bent on eliminating every form of opposition as the inter-party council is expected to present the most critical form of objectivity in the conduct of political parties in Nigeria since the opposition parties have failed woefully in that role,” the statement read.
The group also expressed concern that some of the frontline candidates in the forthcoming election, had pending cases in court, adding that “an IPAC of people with an integrity deficit will leave a damaging effect on the image of the council”.
Rafsanjani, therefore, called for a transparent and credible electoral process which he noted would boost confidence among citizens about the possibility of reforms, and give Nigerians the confidence that the IPAC had what it took to entrench internal democracy among the registered political parties in the country.
