Uche Secondus, a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, has pushed back against calls for local government elections to be handled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking at the Inter-Party Advisory Council’s (IPAC) first South-South Leadership Conference in Port Harcourt, Secondus said that the commission is already overworked.
He declared that it was inappropriate for anybody to consider giving the federal government additional authority at a time when people are calling for the decentralization of power and are unhappy with how the same INEC is handling national elections.
Speaking from his experience as a long-standing politician, Secondus alleged that the national elections conducted by INEC are yet to be credible.
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He also advocated for the writing of a new constitution to reflect the desires of the citizens of the country, criticising the current constitution as being fundamentally flawed and inconsistent with the aspirations of Nigerians.
The IPAC conference was chaired by an Ijaw Elderstatesman, Anabs Sara-Igbe who called for a more active role for traditional rulers in the region.
He criticised the lack of constitutional provisions for traditional rulers in the governance of the country.
He advocated for the region’s industrialisation, and urged a united front to voice regional demands amid Nigeria’s economic shift from oil to gas.
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Sara-Igbe also emphasised the potential for enhancing food security through agriculture, noting the region’s capacity to supply fish to Africa.
The event, themed “Good Governance and Security As Panacea to Grassroots Development,” is attended by the National leadership of IPAC, as well as Chairmen of Political Parties in the six States of the region.
Other notable attendees included former Minister of Transport, Abiye Sekibo, former Governor, Celestine Omehia, Niger Delta activist, Ann Kio-Briggs, and other personalities.
