Anambra Poll: Activist Cautions On Candidates Imposition

An Anambra-based human rights activist, Chief Barn Ekeneme, has described  the imposition of candidates by political parties in Nigeria, as undemocratic.
Ekeneme, said in Awka that the development was also against the peoples wish and a negation of the principle of equity and fair play.
“Days are gone when few people in a political party would impose their candidates on the citizens in the name of party supremacy,’’ he said.
He said that the principle of democracy was based on the freedom of expression and association as enunciated by the founding fathers of democracy.
On zoning, the activist said  such system “panders to regional sentiments rather than the search for excellence”.
He urged the people in the state to consider the strength of the candidates that would vie for governorship position in the next election.
Ekeneme, who is also the General Manager of Orient Newspaper, Magazine and Communication Ltd, said that zoning was not in agreement with the tenets of democracy.
He stressed that the citizens must be allowed to make their choice willingly and that  “there should be no anointed person or automatic ticket”.
According to him, free, fair and credible election will not be achieved through imposition of candidate in the next governorship election in the state.
He said that aspirants parading as “anointed candidates of the governor” would be disappointed because people had become better enlightened to shun injustice and fraud.
“The uninterrupted flow of democracy has given Nigerians the freedom to chose who will rule them, the political parties to belong and who to vote according to their conscience”, he stated.