By Juliana Katung:
The Collimation of United Political Parties CUPP Kaduna chapter has raised an alarm on alleged plans by the ruling party in Kaduna State to rig the forthcoming election.
The chairman of the CUPP and the Labour Party Kaduna State chapter, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim Mairakumi made allegation at a news briefing in Kaduna.
He alleged that Governor El-rufa’i was lobbying to influence the transfer of all indigenous police officers and men serving in state out of the state command.
The chairman added that the Governor was also working hard to obtain the approval of INEC and influence the Kaduna state police command to accept his state sponsored Vigilantes services popularly referred to ‘Kato da Gora’ to participate in the election as part of the election security team.
“The Governor in his desperation has recently inaugurated a new security operatives in the guise of Kaduna State Local Government Safety and Emergency Management Volunteers”, who are going to be used as Polling Unit Guards.
“This is unacceptable and must be resisted. We therefore call on the attention of INEC, Security Agencies, Nigerians and indeed the
International Observers to this unhealthy political development so that his action should not only be totally condemned but rejected out rightly” he said.
The chairman further noted that the Governor’s action goes against INEC guidelines for the conduct of the 2019 General Elections.
According him, all political parties have the responsibility of ensuring peaceful conduct of elections as it has been the practice and that the CUPP and the political parties are confident in the ability and capacity of the Nigeria Police Force and the statutory Federal Security Agencies to provide adequate security and guaranty peaceful election at all polling units and voting centers in the state and the country at large.
He however called on all stakeholders, particularly the media and international observers to view the alleged action of the Kaduna State Governor with all seriousness in order to ensure that all effort to undermine the process and rigged the elections be resisted and stopped.
He also called on all security agencies and INEC to ensure that the process and conduct of the 2019 general election is NOT only free and fair BUT credible and in line with international best practices.
