I Conducted the Most Credible Election–IBB
From Aisha Wakaso in Minna, 07.23.2008
Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) has declared that his administration conducted the most credible elections in the country since Independence .
"Aside from the cancellation of the result of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, you will agree with me that the elections conducted under my watch between 1989 and 1992 were generally free, fair, acceptable and credible", he said.
He made this known when he presented a memorandum on Electoral reforms and Party system in Minna, yesterday.
In the memorandum he presented, he gave one of the reasons that limit democracy in Nigeria as power of incumbency as most of the people at the helm of affairs are interested in succession election, he therefore stated that elections are conducted freer, fairer, and more credible during the military regime.
"It is therefore easy to understand why elections conducted by the military when they are existing from power are more credible than elections conducted by Nigerians when the rulers are members of one political party", he added.
General Babangida suggested that INEC should not be the only body with the responsibility of conducting elections in the country. He therefore added that different bodies should be in charge of conducting elections for different elective positions.
"The issue of interest is whether this body should be the only one to conduct elections for the National Executive and Legislative branches, state executives and legislative branches; or whether in compliance with the principles of federalism, there should be conducted by two bodies as we have in the 1999 constitution or we should have three bodies each to be national, state and Local government election". he said.
Speaking to the Alhaji Ahmed Kurfi delegation, he condemned the number of political parties in the country and blamed the influx of the political parties on the constitutional requirements which compels INEC to regularly provide the political parties with "Free funds'.
"The free flow of party formation can easily cause chaos and we know that some political parties as registered today have no existence beyond the registration certificates in the pockets of their owners. They are like the ownership of petrol stations which have business when there is fuel and no business when there is no fuel", he said.
Meanwhile the National Chairman of Congress of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa who was in Minna to inaugurate the Niger state chapter of CNPP has said that more political parties should be registered because democracy is all about choice.
Musa said that during the colonial era, there was no registration of political parties only recognition of political parties which gave room for more political parties.
According to him, the number of political parties is not capable of causing instability in the country so there should be no restrictions in the number of political parties.
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