April 11 Election Is A Referendum On Oshiomhole – Ugolor … Congratulates Buhari, Urges Boost For EFCC, ICPC, Judiciary

By Igbotako Nowinta, Alltimepost.com Nigeria Bureau Chief

Frontline Civil Society Activist and Executive Director, African Network for Environment & Economic Justice (ANEEJ), a leading NGO in Nigeria, Rev. David Ugolor has proclaimed April 11, 2015 House of Assembly Election in Edo State as a referendum on the performance of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

The rights activist believed that it would be a moment that the Edo people would turn out en-mass to vote in all candidates of the All Progressives Congress as a compensation for what he described as the unprecedented performance of the labor leader-turned Governor.

Edo is one of the few states where only the House of Assembly Elections will hold. There will be no gubernatorial contest because Oshiomhole’s tenure expires in 2016.

Oshiomhole who ran in 2007 on the platform of the then Action Congress (AC) was formally sworn in on November 12, 2008, following his historic victory at the State Election Tribunal where he sought redress due to alleged massive rigging of the election which earlier brought in his opponent, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as Governor.

Osunbor’s election was declared invalid by the tribunal on March 20, 2008.

In a chat with Alltimepost.com Nigeria Bureau Chief recently, Rev. Ugolor spoke on sustainable development, institutional building, alleviation of poverty & economic empowerment, for which his organization stands.

He advised Edo people to vote for credible candidates who genuinely believe in the development of the state as opposed to those who will loot the treasury.

He also stressed the need for Edo to vote for those who share the developmental principles of the Oshiomhole administration.

“Oshiomhole has done a lot for Edo state that one great way for the people to show him gratitude is to massively vote for All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly candidates.”

Edo State, he said must continue to move forward and consolidate on the current development. His words: ‘‘If you allow a cancerous people to take over the Edo State House of Assembly, it will retard development.

Therefore, it is Oshiomhole that should be on the ballot box on April 11th 2015. The election should be about continuous development of Edo State.”

Rev Ugolor congratulated the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari on his historic victory, saying it has demystified the myth around religion and ethnicity; that the message of anti-corruption gained traction for more citizens considering its negative impact on development.

The ANEEJ boss said the message of change became sellable to the voters after experiencing high level of unemployment, poor performance in the economy, widespread impunity, weak institutions and poor performance of EFCC, ICPC and other organs of government.

Rev Ugolor called on General Buhari to have zero tolerance for corruption and that he should ensure that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is passed into law, strengthen all the institutions that will make the economy to function properly.

‘‘Key institutions like the ICPC, EFCC should be properly funded and strengthened to ensure that they are able to carry out unbiased prosecution; strengthen the judiciary, a key sector that creates confidence for both local and foreign investors…rule of law needs to be given priority and procurement system is made effective, so that the process can be transparent’’

He charged Buhari to work closely with the National Assembly for the effective implementation of the procurement bill and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparent Initiative (NEITI) secretariat should be strengthened to play their statutory role and ensure transparency in the Oil and Gas sectors; that all taxes & royalties paid to the Nigerian Treasury are properly captured’’

Rev Ugolor urged General Buhari to strengthen the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act by making sure that documents of government are published for citizens to access.

He praised the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega for using the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and the Smart Card Readers (SCR) during the March 28 Presidential/National Assembly Elections, a phenomenon he said brought a lot of credibility to the electoral process in Nigeria.