National Chairman of People’s Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has called for free and fair elections in Nigeria to entrench principles of democracy in electoral process.
The PDP national chairman who spoke in Port-Harcourt at the weekend at the 2020 State Congress organized by the Rivers State Chapter of the PDP said that the process to elect new executives of the party was transparent, free and fair.
Prince Secondus said: “We want to move from where we are now onto another stage of our electoral process because my worry is that the elections in Nigeria whether be it in the party or the general election is increasingly becoming cumbersome embedded with all mispractices and all the frauds.
“I’m quite sure that our National Assembly with INEC and Mr. President, before the next general election, will reform our electoral laws, the ones that require the amendments that are necessary, so that election can be free and fair not the ones that the security agencies will be involved as we witnessed in 2019 election in Rivers State and other states of the federation”.
He said the Congress which produced new executives of the party in Rivers State was transparent, free and fair and said that he was sure that the country’s electoral umpire would take cue from the party’s electoral committee.
He said that the country should not be moving backward in electoral process while other countries are moving forward saying that the country should be able to conduct free and fair elections that would be acclaimed around the whole world.
Secondus said: “It is difficult and increasingly very difficult in Nigeria to conduct free and fair elections. It is one injustice that will beget another injustice and it will go down the line to cause violence and crime as we are witnessing in Nigeria today. The people cannot come out freely (and) vote for whom they want to be in charge of their government and the people high up there would connive with some security agencies and snatch the mandate of the people”.
He commended governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, for his courage in resisting attempts to rig the governorship election in the state in 2019 general elections.
He said that some other states were not lucky in resisting the attempts to rig elections in their states.
The PDP national chairman advised the new chairman of the party in the state, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, to ensure there is inclusiveness in administering the party.
He appealed to the party’s incoming chairman to learn from his predecessor who he said had nurtured and worked for the party.
The national chairman of the party said: “The new elected exco headed by Ambassador Akawor and your team will learn from the process between now and May when the handover will take place from a man who had nurtured and worked for this party. He brought everybody at all times in all gatherings and that is Bro Felix Obuah, the outgoing chairman (of the People’s Democratic Party in Rivers State).
Secondus also appealed to the new chairman and members of his executive and of the party to be committed and loyal to governor of the state who is the leader of the party.
He said that the governor needs support of the party so that he could govern and offer solutions to challenges facing the state and the people.
