Connect with us

Politics

We Need To Finetune Our Electoral Act – Thompson

Published

on

Tunde Thompson

Tunde Thompson

This is the concluding part of the interview with Mr. Babatunde Ozemoya Thompson, veteran journalist and now stalwart of the All Progressives Congress and member of the media team of President Mohammadu Buhari. He spoke with Opaka Dokubo in Asaba, Delta State. The first part of the chat was published on Monday, last week.
What Is your assessment of INEC under the new leadership, especially after the conduct of the Kogi and Bayelsa  elections?
Let me tell you,
despite all the negative comments people in different parties have been making, INEC has proved that it has come to stay to do the right thing at the right time for the people of this country in maintaining a wholesome democratic process. Kogi shows that INEC has lived up to the expectation that this is the time to build institutions, powerful institutions not powerful people.
Whatever INEC said in Kogi, it was an institution put in charge to do certain things and it did what it had to do and offered its opinion. Whoever you are, I’m afraid, go to court and challenge it. PDP shouted, APC shouted. People should know that INEC’s job is not an easy job to do. It’s like being a judge in a land where there is no rule of law. That rule of law has to be established otherwise we’re all ruined. So, INEC has lived up to expectation in both elections.
Of course, Bayelsa matter is yet to be concluded and by the time they hold election in Southern Ijaw, we will see what happens.
But let us enforce the rules in the Electoral Act that nobody shall carry guns, nobody shall carry machets, nobody shall carry cutlasses and axes and all that. And that anybody who sponsors the procurement of such materials is not fit to be a candidate in Nigerian political contest.
You see, people commit offences during electoral activities and they’re not punished. You too you know that the failure of the enforcement of the law is one of the reasons for the disrespect for the rule of law in Nigeria.
The APC candidate’s protest in Bayelsa
Well, Mr Sylva is capable of expressing his own views, I was not there, he was the man there and cannot judge for him. All I am saying is that anybody who supports violence and procures equipment of violence should not be allowed in the democratic process.
I may be in the APC but I’m not a person who will support the destruction of lives and property, just because I want the APC to win. APC members are for progress, they’re for progressive approaches to governance. They cannot be in support of retrogressive, unpopular, man eating practices, society demolishing tendencies (and) pretending to be democratic. That’s not my vision for the APC. My vision for the APC is not a party where the truth does not matter. Go tell it on the mountain, tell it in the valleys that where there’s no respect for godly ways to life, the devil shall take over. And if you don’t want the devil to win (he has already been winning for too many years) we shouldn’t give him more quarters in our parties. We cannot stop extreme behaviour, by authorising or allowing inacceptable behaviours
Did you consider that Delta is a PDP State while agreeing to deliver a lecture on the vision of the governor?
When I was invited by the NUJ of the Delta State Council to prepare to speak on something the governor has declared as his own philosophy of governance called SMART, since I’m not a politician, it was not my business to consider PDP or no PDP. It was to be looking at ways SMART could be rendered or knocked off all together if people were to be partisan in their thinking. And the way to stay straight is to stay ethical and professional. I find that most governments do not work because people do not face the rule of law, people did not remain ethically conscious and focused. So, I said that the major problem it will have is if reporters, editors, correspondents, even cartoonists choose to see the SMART programme introduced by the governor as something they could destroy on partisan lines, using partisan arguments.
I think the SMART programme is a creative and thoughtful way of serving the people. How to serve people is what politics is out to do and politicians have found ways of achieving that purpose – that goal of serving the people. So, Dr Ifeanyi Athur Okowa has come up with an idea and you don’t because you’re in APC, APGA or something else, begin to throw sand on that SMART Programme.
Even as a member  of the APC, how do you see the state of opposition politics in Nigeria?
It is not right for opposition parties just to keep criticising everything, running down people in authority just because they want to be noticed as being in opposition.  There are times you have to be sincere to yourself.  Imagine the election that has been concluded in Kogi State now, eeh they’re going to rig, eeh everybody is trying to rig…
They accused the party in authority at the centre of wanting to do one evil or the other.  That’s too much.  Some of the accusations are untested, they are unsubstantiated.  We’ve finished Kogi and we have had Bayelsa and you can see that the rivalry in Bayelsa has always been there.  I can say, undemocratically so because some of them decided to put their trust in weapons of mass destruction instead of social intercourse, democratic interrelationship, persuasion, convincing people that you’re a better candidate, debates and so on.
They’re not thinking of positive democratic ways of winning votes; there must be weapons, there must be weapons, there must be axes, there must be guns.
We need to fine tune our Electoral Act. Anybody whose supporter is found carrying a gun, a cutlass, an axe, must be removed from the democratic process because if those people who are carrying those weapons of mass destruction had not been funded, where could they have got the money? All those who put their trust on destroying their opponents must be destroyed out of the system.
You might say it’s not democratic to exclude them but what’s the law there for? Are we to encourage violence, negative fanaticism, wrong accusations, manipulative dispositions by people who want power at all cost? No way let us think of ways of discouraging negative tendencies like that in our politics.
So, I agree with you that we must stop the draconian people from polluting our democratic process. Draconian is not only related to the military.
There are people who are democratically disposed to being violent. They think they’re democrats but their ways are anything but democratic. In fact, there are people who don’t even go to the party headquarters; they are too big to report for meetings. Tell them that I said so. Democracy calls for humility. You should not feel too big to go into your party headquarters and discuss with A to Z. among the populace, you’re to be able to show them what you mean, you can do well and you care about them. Most of our political parties have a problem of internal democracy. The big shots don’t want to tell the small people anything to convince them; they want to order them around. But the world is changing. Those that were ordering them around should check themselves otherwise they’d be given the red card.

Continue Reading

Politics

Gov Alia Appoints TuFace As Adviser

Published

on

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has appointed Nigerian music legend, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as TuFace, as his Technical Adviser on Entertainment and Community Outreach.
In a viral video on Wednesday, Governor Alia praised TuFace for all the support towards his administration.
The Governor stated that TuFace can do more.
He stated, “On behalf of the Benue State Government and our very good people, we want to give you some more responsibility plus the ones you have been doing because you have the capacity to do some more and help us chart a way forward to improve other people’s lives and to gain more from your wisdom and advice as well.
“So, I’m pleased to announce that we will make you a Technical Adviser to the Governor on Entertainment and Community Outreach.”

Continue Reading

Politics

Oborevwori, Okowa Dump PDP For APC

Published

on

Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement was made following a closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba on Wednesday.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, confirmed the development in a telephone conversation with The Tide’s source.
Similarly, the defection of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was announced on Wednesday in Asaba by Senator James Manager, following a meeting that lasted over six hours at the Government House.
Senator Manager said all PDP members in the State, including the Governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, and all local government chairmen, had agreed to join the APC.
“We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat,” he said.
The decision to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) followed extensive consultations with political stakeholders and was made in the interest of Delta State’s long-term development.
Governor Oborevwori, who won the 2023 gubernatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was received by senior APC officials in what political analysts are already describing as a strategic realignment with far-reaching implications ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Continue Reading

Politics

Speakers Conference Tasks FG, Governors On Wanton Killings

Published

on

The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria has condemned the recent wave of killings in Plateau, Borno, Benue, Niger State and most recently, Kwara State, calling on the federal and state governments to take urgent steps to stem the tide.
Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Adebo Ogundoyin, stated this in a statement issued in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Rt Hon. Ogundoyin, who is the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, said the gruesome killings had led to tragic loss of lives, widespread displacement, and unimaginable trauma for thousands of Nigerians.
“We are alarmed by the escalating insecurity in the land and the seeming helplessness with which these attacks are met. The time for mere condemnation and rhetoric has passed; urgent and coordinated action is now required at all levels of government to end these bloodbaths and restore peace and order.
“While we acknowledge that defence and national security fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Government, we must stress that every level of government bears responsibility for the security and welfare of the people. State governors, in particular, must rise to the occasion and fully understand that governance is not limited to road construction and ceremonial functions. True governance is rooted in the protection of lives, the preservation of order, and the alleviation of suffering,” he said.
He called on state governments to complement the efforts of the Federal Government by making and enforcing enabling laws for community policing and other grassroots-driven security models.
According to him, States must develop proactive frameworks that integrate local intelligence, social support systems, and youth engagement in the fight against insecurity.
The conference also urged the Federal Government to meaningfully engage the citizenry and introduce bold, practical measures to cushion the hardship caused by its current economic policies.
“Millions of Nigerians are groaning under the weight of inflation, unemployment, and a cost-of-living crisis. It is imperative that relief initiatives—targeted, transparent, and impactful—are rolled out without delay. Dialogue, not distance, must define the relationship between the government and its people at this critical time.
“The Conference of Speakers affirms its commitment to supporting all legislative actions necessary to restore security, promote justice, and foster inclusive governance across the country. The killings in Benue, Niger, Plateau, Borno, Kwara, and any part of Nigeria must not be allowed to continue unchecked. Justice must prevail, and peace must be restored.
“Let it be known: the safety, dignity, and well-being of every Nigerian must remain the top priority of all arms and levels of government,” Rt Hon. Ogundoyin said.

Continue Reading

Trending