Delegate seeks death penalty for election riggers

 

A delegate, Alhaji Aliyu Abdulkarreem, has said the National Conference is full of those he described as “active election riggers.”

Abdulkareem, who spoke while contributing to the debate on the report by the Committee on Political Parties and Electoral Matters in Abuja on Tuesday, recommended that stiffer penalties must be put in place to discourage election rigging in the country.

He said the outcome of election rigging in the country had been bad governance in Nigeria.

He, therefore, suggested that election riggers must be shot to serve as a deterrent to others.

Abdulkareem said, “I want the conference to look at the issue of rigging in the country. It is giving us bad government and that is why we are having bad governance. Election riggers must be shot. This conference is full of election riggers and I therefore move a motion that election riggers must be shot in order to serve as a deterrent to others.”

His contribution seemed not to go down well with majority of the delegates as they laughed, while others openly said “no” to his recommendation.

In his contribution to the debate, Mr. Akin Arikawe, a retired permanent secretary, suggested that the recommendation of the committee that election riggers must be banned for 10 years before being allowed to contest any elective office should be adopted.

“Election riggers must be banned for 10 years before being allowed to contest elections. Election riggers must be punished. We must be seen to be serious and we must take actions that are decisive,” he added.

In his contribution, another delegate, Senator Nnamdi Eriobuna, said it was unfortunate that most political parties lacked ideology and that they end up deceiving the voters.

While saying that political parties must be forced to have clear and distinct ideologies, he also said that any public office holder who defected should be made to lose his or her seat.