Pastor Peters Osawaru Omoragbon, the National Conscience Party (NCP) governorship candidate in Edo State, has said that Independent National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and the elites in the two major political parties, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are the nation’s greatest problems.
Omoragbon, who spoke through a statement on Saturday, maintained that both the PDP and APC administrations in the country had foisted a lot of suffering on citizens during their tenure by not adhering to the rule of law.
He said that since the return to democracy, both parties, in the name of civil administrations, had continued to unleash authoritarianism and tyranny on the people through miscarriage of justice.
Omoragbo, who was reacting to the recent Appeal Court judgment nullifying the deregistration of 74 political parties, including the NCP, by the INEC, while commending the judiciary for the ruling, said the decision was a victory by the Nigerian people.
He noted that the INEC’s decision to deregister the NCP was shocking not only to its members, but also to a large number of Nigerians, recalling that his party, which he said was known for its pro-masses programmes, was the oldest party in the nation since the return to democracy.
He tackled the INEC for overlooking the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court of November 8, 2002, which made it possible for the registration of political parties in line with Section 40 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution.
Omoragbon stressed that it was that Supreme Court judgement that made it possible for the APC and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), President Muhammadu Buhari’s former political party, which later merged with Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and a faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), to form the All Progressive Congress (APC) in February of 2013.
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The NCP candidate maintained that the recent Appeal Court’s ruling, which nullified INEC’s action, was highly commendable, and demonstrated that Nigeria still had many judges of honour and integrity, who had made the judiciary to remain the last hope of the common man.
While noting that INEC had indicated its desire to challenge that ruling Appeal Court ruling at the Supreme Court, Omoragbon stressed that the electoral agency would be serving only the interests of the elites in APC and PDP, rather than that of the Nigerian people by going to the Apex Court, an action he added would be a waste of public fund.
Omoragbon stated: “INEC does not have the interest of the Nigerian people at heart, but to serve its masters in APC and PDP, both in the Presidency and the National Assembly, that colluded together to insert the fraud called Section 225 into the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended).
“This is why INEC wants to engage in the waste of public funds characteristic of the APC and PDP government by initiating plans to challenge the ruling.
“Like it was shamed in 2002 under their first chairman, late Dr Abel Guobadia, so will it be disgraced again this year, if it goes to the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court knows that it is not about INEC and its paymasters in APC and PDP, but it is about the soul of this nation and democracy. The world is tired of the continuous shameless behaviour and attitudes of our elites and their ‘selected’ members at the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assembly nationwide.”
Omoragbon stressed that democracy is not only about elections, adding that for democracy to evolve good governance, it must be liberal and participatory.
“Liberal democracy entails not only free and fair elections in terms of voting administration, it requires a more comprehensive fairness of political competition embodied in the concept of a just and open competition,” which he said INEC had tried to destroy through the deregistration of 74 political parties.
