By Paul Michael
National Civil Society Coalition, a body of over thirty (30) Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have demanded the suspension of the Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Engr Yabagi Yusuf Sani, for allegedly rejecting the proposal for screening of all aspirants by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The IPAC chairman was said to have described the proposal by NDLEA as an awkward proposal. Responding in a press statement signed by the convener, Martins Igwe, on Tuesday after an emergency meeting of the body held on Monday, the CSOs said that the IPAC chairman should be suspended within 14 days or come out to debunk his statement.
The statement says, “On behalf of National Civil Society Coalition for peace and security we call on the IPAC members to immediately suspend its chairman for rejecting the effort of the NDLEA to compliment the effort of our electoral body to bring peace and security in electoral process through test of the political aspirants for 2023 election testing of aspirant is not only timely but appropriate to guarantee peace during elections and certified candidates whose mental health in capable of the challenges ahead.
“In Nigeria, we are witness to a state legislator after election he left his position for no reason. A federal legislator has also been caught beating a woman in a shop. Since Nigeria got independent all coups were based on corruption and bad governance.
Democratic actions have been promised to Nigeria, still snake made away with millions of Naira from an Agency, Gorilla allegedly took some million from a zoo, 13 billion naira was found in a house in Ikoyi while some are cooling off in septic tanks all over Nigeria. “While the statutory salary of Nigeria President in a year is not up to 20 Million Naira, an agency staff allegedly took 300 Million as travel allowance.
Allowing those kind of characters to jump into electoral process without drug test amount to sacrilege to democracy and if IPAC chairman is not officially suspended within 14 days or comes out to disown this unpopular statement CSOs will agree on the next action. “Only in 2019 election, 629 human beings were killed across Nigeria. By rejecting drug text for politicians, IPAC chairman has overtly supported this electoral violence.
Police and other security agencies should be officially informed of IPAC position while we mobilize for necessary legislative action that should hault further national embracement by politicians with yet to be identified misguided selfish interest.
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“Finally, CSO join well meaning Nigerians to condemn the high cost of expression of interest form for contestable position in the next elections, that creates another possibility of drug barons and fraud stars to join the race as they have the resources.
“For IPAC chairman to have the shameless boldness to call a laudable idea by NDLEA ‘Awkward Proposal’ is tantamount to advisory disservice to Nigeria political parties, insult to credible electoral process hence our renewed call to political parties to suspend IPAC chairman immediately.”
