Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), an umbrella organisation of opposition parties, yesterday called on its members to boycott all elections, election petitions tribunals, the election reform committee, as well as the proposed constitutional amendment.

The boycott call was made by the CNPP Chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, after a meeting of opposition political leaders in Abuja.

The CNPP chairman said the boycott became necessary in the face of desperate attempts by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

His words: "Member parties in the CNPP should henceforth boycott all elections, both local and national, as participating in an election whose result is already known is tantamount to giving legitimacy to a fraudulent, corrupt and illegal process.

"Since the judiciary has been compromised, it makes it impossible for anyone to have confidence that the tribunals will mete out justice, so members should henceforth boycott all tribunals and courts".

Balarabe Musa, explaining the rationale for CNPP's call for a boycott of the electoral reform committee and the proposed constitutional amendment, said, "the purpose is a grand deception of the Nigerian public and the international community, and we would not be party to it".

The CNPP chairman accused the National Assembly of colluding with the PDP-controlled Federal Government to swindle Nigerians, saying in spite of mass poverty in the land, senators and members of the House of Representatives collect N45 million and N35 million respectively as wages.

"Lacking any popular mandate, beref of any patriotic zeal and deficient in any legitimacy whatsoever, most members of the legislature are only concerned with feathering their nests and amassing material wealth by hook, crook or outright theft", he added.

Among parties that were represented at the meeting were the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the African Liberation Party (ALP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), the Justice Party (JP), the Action Congress (AC), Progressive Action Congress (PAC) and the National Democratic Party (NDP), amongst others.