ACN CHAIRMAN’S COMMENT ON IMPOSITION OF CANDIDATES IRRESPONSIBLE – GROUP

The Elections Transparency Group (ETG) has described as irresponsible and insulting comment by the National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on imposition of candidates was normal and that anyone who cannot abide by it should quit the party.

ETG, in a release issued today and signed by its National Coordinator, Dr. Kazeem Adekunle said; “In a sane society, the likes of Chief Bisi Akande ought to have been sent to prison for Obtaining By Trick (OBT) or how do we describe a situation where people were asked to pay millions of naira as nomination fees only for them to be told later that other people had been picked as candidates without election?”

The group called on the Independent National Electoral Commission

(INEC) to act on the ACN anti-democratic practises saying; “INEC should not be concerned about what happen in the ruling Peoples'

Democratic Party (PDP) alone, the commission should also show concern on how other parties are run too.

“Article 5 (11) of the ACN Constitution and Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 are very clear on how the ACN candidates for elections should emerge. But here is the chairman of a party that goes about, preaching rule of law, one man, one vote; telling us that candidates are also imposed in crude manners in England, Canada and India.

“In their practice of FAMILUTOCRACY, leaders of Akande's ACN have imposed their wives, concubines, children and cronies as candidates in place those who paid nomination fees and he (Akande) is telling us to go to hell!

“After playing people 419 by collecting nomination fees for tickets that they knew would not be available, Akande is now adding salt to injury by telling those they have defrauded to go to hell.

“Honestly, this is irresponsible and insulting. It is also criminal and it is high time security agencies in the country step into this

419 practice of Chief Akande and his ilk in the ACN.

“It is even more insulting that Akande and his co-travellers in the ACN are nor bothered by the death of five persons in Edo-State and one person in Ekiti State during the fracas that ensued as a result of the party's anti-democratic practise.”

While calling on Nigerians to be mindful of political parties like the ACN that are preaching what they don't practise, the group said; “Now that the ACN has shown Nigerians its true colour, it is left for Nigerians and those that the party have cheated to decide in April.”