By: Vitalis Ugoh Calabar
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC),Cross River state, has sent a passionate appeal calling on the governor, Senator Bassey Otu to expeditiously assent to the Cross River Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) Bill.
Recalled that recently the Cross River State House of Assembly passed the Bill into law awaiting the assent by the governor.
Addressing newsmen in Calabar at the Nigeria Union of Journalist Press Centre, Engr.Effiom EdetIPAC Chairman, Cross River State said “recall that the State House of Assembly recently amended the law regulating the conduct of local government elections in Cross River State”.
IPAC had earlier refuted the law passed by the Assembly, insisting that more stakeholders’ engagement is undertaken before passing such an all-important bill into law.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon. Elvert Ayambem had graciously invited the leadership of political parties and other critical stakeholders to make their input on the amended bill, the IPAC Chairman noted in response to its reaction.
Also, “in an interactive session that took place recently in the complex of the StateAssembly, IPAC reached a seamless agreement with the House of Assembly on the reviewed clauses.Theamended portions, which have been sent to the govermor for assent, now reflect the broader consensus ofcritical stakeholders, thus allaying the fears of political parties in the state ahead of the elections”.
“IPAC, therefore commend the House of Assembly for the swift passage of the Bill, stressing that it demonstrates their commitment to deepening democracy in the state.”
“In the same vein, IPAC urges thegovernor, His Excellency, Senator Prince Edet Bassey Otu to expeditiously assent to the Bill, to enable the conduct of local government election in the state”.
According to him, “on the strength of the foregoing and in line with the ruling of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy, IPAC demands that the governor conducts the long awaited local government elections before the end of December, 2024 and that failure to conduct the election promptly, the Council will not hesitate to ask the federal government to stop sending allocation to the 18 local government areas in the state”.
IPAC had earlier paid a courtesy visit on the newly constituted CROSIEC, and passed a vote ofconfidence in the Commission and urged them to release elections time table without further hesitation.
It further charged the Commission to ensure the conduct of a free, fair, transparent, credible and peaceful local government elections in the state.
Also, the council called for the participition of all political parties as well as all Cross Riverians to beactively involved in the forthcoming local government elections in order to restore democracy at the grassroots.
