Lawyer Tasks INEC On Free, Fair Polls

A Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Mr Endurance Akpelu, has called on the Federal Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the 2019 general elections are free and fair as a litmus test of anti-corruption war.
Mr Akpelu, who stated this while speaking with The Tide in Port Harcourt last Monday, noted that the anti-corruption war must be fought on all fronts and not selected areas.
He said the generals of anti-corruption crusade must ensure a level playing field for all competitors to enable the nation’s democracy move forward.
He praised the Federal Government for the anti-corruption war but cautioned that the war must not be one-sided.
Mr Akpelu said some of the country’s laws had become obsolete and needed to be reviewed.
He said the skewed federation also needed to be corrected to put the country on the path of development.
He said a situation where states would go to Abuja to share the profits of oil produced in the Niger Delta was not healthy for the nation’s democracy.
Akpelu opined that the ugly situation encourages laziness among the federating states.
He said every state should have something to contribute to the development of Nigeria.
According to him, “we should have a symbiotic association of federating states instead of a parasitic one”.

Chidi Enyie