Beatrice Onuchukwu
21 June 2009
Awka — Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State says rigging is the greatest challenge facing the country as it celebrates 10 years of democracy. Speaking on the nation's decade of democratic experience, Obi said; "We have had problems associated with elections. This, in fact, is the centre of the difficulties inherent in our democratic experiment today. We have often made the point that the process by which people attain political power should be transparent. When a politician earns an executive office through the back door, through rigging of elections and through the employment of violence, he negates democracy and creates avoidable cracks in the entity.
"Sadly enough, there is not much to say for the way in which the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) as presently constituted has so far conducted elections in Anambra State and in this country as a whole. Many of its electoral verdicts were summarily nullified by the courts. This explains why we have repeatedly called for a root and branch reform of the INEC. We can only allow those misapplying their official responsibilities at the electoral body to continue at our general peril."
The governor said dividends of democracy had been distributed in Anambra State and promised to renew his dedication to the cause of his people.
On the coming gubernatorial election, he appealed for the corporation of all to ensure that the exercise passes off peacefully so that whoever rightly emerges victorious would mount the state's seat of power. Cautioning against what he called the "politics of rice and beans," he asked the people to turn their backs to those who would offer them a cup of rice today and pay no attention after their votes had put them where they should never have been. He also asked the people to pay attention rather to those who would give jobs to the youth, leaders who would empower their families, gifted and committed politicians who would focus on the development of infrastructure.
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mr Obi is not a good candidate for our state Any more and he knows it, Even from what he had said in this daily trust news paper today being 21/06/09 that people should turn their back to the people that will give them food today and forget to give jobs to their children tomorrow. Please ask mr Obi for me if he have done otherwise after his election since 2006. From Okafor I. Felix UNILAG