In Abuja on Thursday, the Senate strongly condemned the recent local government elections conducted in several states for chairmen and councillors tagging them as sham and “rape of democracy”.
Following the disappointing tag, it consequently promised to do the needful about the charade for survival of democracy in Nigeria through required constitution amendments.
The criticism of local government elections by the Senate had followed a motion sponsored by the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) regarding the ocal government election conducted in Benue State in the past Saturday which he described as a sham.
Senator Emmanuel Udende (APC, Benue North East) had also seconded the motion, saying that although he was a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he would not stand in the wrong, adding: “This is not a party matter; there was no election in Benue state.”
Consequently, another APC senator from the state, Titus Zam (Benue, North West), strongly supported the motion. condemning the election in its entirety.
In his words,
“There were no elections across the 23 local governments in the state last Saturday. What took place as election at the government house, was a charade and heinous political crime.”
In their remarks, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin and the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, agreed that the National Assembly needed to reposition the local government as a third tier of government through required constitution amendment.
